Process for the conversion of a crude glycerol, crude mixtures of naturally derived multicomponent aliphatic hydrocarbons or esters thereof to a chlorohydrin

ABSTRACT

A process for converting a crude glycerol, crude mixtures of naturally derived multihydroxylated-aliphatic hydrocarbons or esters thereof to a chlorohydrin, by contacting the crude glycerol, crude mixtures of naturally derived multihydroxylated-aliphatic hydrocarbons or esters thereof starting material with a source of a superatmospheric partial pressure of hydrogen chloride for a sufficient time and at a sufficient temperature, and wherein such contracting step is carried out without substantial removal of water, to produce the desired chlorohydrin product; wherein the desired product or products can be made in high yield without substantial formation of undesired overchlorinated byproducts; wherein said crude glycerol, said ester of crude glycerol, or mixture thereof is derived from a renewable raw material. Chlorohydrins made by the process of the present invention are useful in preparing epoxides such as epichlorohydrins.

This application claims the benefit of U.S. application Ser. No.11/628,269 (PCT/US05/025443), filed Jul. 18, 2005, which claims thebenefit of U.S. Provisional application No. 60/589683, filed Jul. 21,2004.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a process for converting amultihydroxylated-aliphatic hydrocarbon or an ester thereof to achlorohydrin. More particularly, the present invention relates to aprocess for converting a crude glycerol, crude mixtures of naturallyderived multihydroxylated-aliphatic hydrocarbons or esters thereof to achlorohydrin. Chlorohydrins, in turn, are useful in preparing epoxidessuch as epichlorohydrins.

Epichlorohydrin is a widely used precursor to epoxy resins.Epichlorohydrin is a monomer which is commonly used for the alkylationof para-bisphenol A; the resultant diepoxide, either as a free monomeror oligomeric diepoxide, may be advanced to high molecular weight resinswhich are used for example in electrical laminates, can coatings,automotive topcoats and clearcoats.

A known process for the manufacture of epichlorohydrin involveshypochlorination of allyl chloride to form dichlorohydrin. Ring closureof the dichlorohydrin mixture with caustic affords epichlorohydrin whichis distilled to high purity (>99.6%). This chlorohydrin process requirestwo equivalents of chlorine and one equivalent of caustic per moleculeof epichlorohydrin.

In another known process for producing epichlorohydrin the first stepinvolves installing oxygen in the allylic position of propylene, via apalladium catalyzed reaction of molecular oxygen in acetic acid. Theresulting allyl acetate is then hydrolyzed, chlorinated and theincipient dichlorohydrin is ring closed with caustic to epichlorohydrin.This process avoids the production of allyl chloride and therefore usesless chlorine (only one equivalent).

Both known processes for the manufacture of epichlorohydrin describedabove require the sacrificial use of chlorine, and complicationsassociated with the industrial use and generation of hypochlorous acid(HOCl) can be magnified at industrial scale and these processes areknown to produce substantial amounts of chlorinated by-products. Inparticular, it is well known that the hypochlorination of allyl chlorideproduces 1,2,3-trichloropropane and other undesirable chlorinated ethersand oligomers (RCls). RCl issues are managed as an increased cost tomanufacture. As new capital is added to accommodate greater globalproduction, a substantial investment in downstream processing must beadded to accommodate and remediate these unwanted by-products. Thesesame problems are analogous in the HOCl routes to propylene and ethylenechlorohydrin, and thus, these routes are less practiced.

An alternative process, which avoids the generation of HOCl, for exampleas described in WO 2002092586 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,288,248 involves thedirect epoxidation of allyl chloride using titanium silicalite catalysiswith hydrogen peroxide. Despite the advantage of reducing the generationof HOCl, allyl chloride is still an intermediate. The disadvantage ofusing allyl chloride is two-fold: (1) The free radical chlorination ofpropylene to allyl chloride is not very selective and a sizable fraction(>15 mole %) of 1,2-dichloropropane is produced. (2) Propylene is ahydrocarbon feedstock and long-term, global forecast of propylene pricecontinues to escalate. A new, economically viable process for theproduction of epichlorohydrin which avoids the complications ofcontrolled, chlorine-based oxidation chemistry and RCl generation isdesirable. There is a need in the industry for a process for thegeneration of epichlorohydrin which involves a non-hydrocarbon,renewable feedstock.

Glycerin is considered to be a low-cost, renewable feedstock which is aco-product of the biodiesel process for making fuel additives. It isknown that other renewable feedstocks such as fructose, glucose andsorbitol can be hydrogenolized to produce mixtures of vicinal diols andtriols, such as glycerin, ethylene glycol, 1,2-propylene glycol,1,3-propylene glycol and the like.

With abundant and low cost glycerin or mixed glycols, an economicallyattractive process for glycerin or mixed glycol hydrochlorination wouldbe desirable. It would be advantageous if such a process were highlychemoselective to the formation of vicinal chlorohydrins, withoutproduction of RCls.

A process is known for the conversion of glycerol (also referred toherein as “glycerin”) to mixtures of dichloropropanols (also referred toherein as “dichlorohydrins”), compounds I and II, as shown in Scheme 1below. The reaction is carried out in the presence of anhydrous HCl andan acetic acid (HOAc) catalyst with water removal. Both compounds I andII can then be converted to epichlorohydrin via treatment with caustic.

Various processes using the above chemistry in Scheme 1 have beenreported in the prior art. For example, epichlorohydrin can be preparedby reacting a dichloropropanol such as 2,3-dichloropropan-1-ol or1,3-dichloropropan-2-ol with base. Dichloropropanol, in turn, can beprepared at atmospheric pressure from glycerol, anhydrous hydrochloricacid, and an acid catalyst. A large excess of hydrogen chloride (HCl)gas is recommended to promote the azeotropic removal of water that isformed during the course of the reaction.

For example, Gibson, G. P., Chemistry and Industry 1931, 20, 949-975;and Conant et al., Organic Synthesis CV 1, 292-294, and OrganicSynthesis CV 1, 295-297; have reported distilled yields ofdichlorohydrins in excess of 70% for dichlorohydrins, compounds I and IIin Scheme 1 above, by purging a large excess of anhydrous HCl (up to 7equivalents) through a stirred solution of glycerol and an organic acidcatalyst. The processes described in the above references require theuse of atmospheric pressures of HCl which is used as an azeotropingagent to remove the accumulated water. Other azeotropes are known. Forexample, U.S. Pat. No. 2,144,612 describes using n-butyl ether alongwith excess hydrogen chloride (HCl) gas to promote the reactivedistillation and removal of water.

Indeed, all of the prior art teaches the vaporization of azeotropes withwater to provide high conversion and a process need for sub-atmosphericor atmospheric pressure conditions to accomplish water removal. U.S.Pat. No. 2,144,612 argues the advantageous use of an added azeotropingagent (for example, n-butyl ether) to promote the reactive azeotropicdistillation and elimination of water, again using excess HCl atatmospheric conditions. A similar approach using vacuum removal of wateris taught in German Patent No. 1075103.

German Patent No. 197308 teaches a process for preparing a chlorohydrinby the catalytic hydrochlorination of glycerine by means of anhydroushydrogen chloride. This reference teaches a batch process withseparation of water at atmospheric conditions. German Patent No. 197308does not teach carrying out the hydrochlorination reation process atelevated pressures.

All known prior art for the production of chlorohydrin reportshydrochlorination processes where water is removed as a co-product fromthe process. In particular, WO 2005/021476 teaches a series ofhydrochlorination reactions in which the water of reaction is removed inan atmospheric or sub-atmospheric process by reactive distillation.Similar art is taught in WO2005/054167 with the additional teaching thatthe reaction carried out under higher total pressures (HCl partialpressure not specified) may improve the rate of reaction. However,nothing in WO2005/054167 discloses the use of HCl partial pressure andits effect in its process. WO2005/054167 also exemplifies the need toremove water to effect high conversion and selectivity under atmosphericor subatmospheric pressures. Neither WO 2005/021476 nor WO2005/054167teaches any advantage of leaving water in their processes, or thatremoving the water effects the formation of unwanted chloroethers andRCl's.

The use of extremely large excess amounts of hydrogen chloride (HCl) gasis economically problematic and the inherent contamination with water ofthe unreacted hydrogen chloride results in an aqueous hydrogen chloridestream that is not easily recyclable. Furthermore, reaction times of 24to 48 hours are required to achieve a far from complete conversion ofglycerin; however, the products often include significant amounts of theundesired overchlorinated trichloropropane and chlorinated ethers. Otherprocesses are also known that use reagents that convert alcohols tochlorides but that scavenge water in situ. For example, thionyl chloridecan be used to convert glycerin to a chlorohydrin, as described inCarre, Mauclere C. R. Hebd. Seances Acad. Sci. 1930, 192 and may beselective, but produces stoichiometric amounts of SO₂. The cost andexpense of this reagent is not acceptable for the industrial productionof epichlorohydrin or any other chlorohydrin derived from amultihydroxylated-aliphatic hydrocarbon. Likewise, otherhydrochlorination reagents which are mild and effective are consideredexpensive and exotic for this transformation, as described in Gomez, etal. Tetrahedron Letters 2000, 41, 6049-6052. Other low temperatureprocesses convert the alcohol to a better leaving group (for example,mesylate) and provide a soluble form of chloride via an ionic liquidused in molar excess, as described in Leadbeater, et al. Tetrahedron2003, 59, 2253-58. Again, the need for anhydrous conditions,stoichiometric reagents and an expensive form of chloride preventsindustrial consideration of the above process. Furthermore, thesereagents can cause exhaustive chlorination of amultihydroxylated-aliphatic hydrocarbon, leading again to undesirableRCl by-products, as taught in Viswanathan, et al. Current Science, 1978,21, 802-803.

To summarize, there are at least five major disadvantages to all of theabove known approaches for preparing a chlorohydrin from glycerin or anyother vicinal-diol, triol or multihydroxylated-aliphatic hydrocarbon:(1) Atmospheric pressure processes for the hydrochlorination of glycerinor any diol require a large excess of HCl, oftentimes 7-10 fold molarexcess. In an atmospheric pressure process the excess anhydrous HCl isthen contaminated with water. (2) Variants of the above known processesare very slow, batch type reactions, which often take between 24-48hours at temperatures in excess of 100° C. and do not exceed 80-90%conversion to desired chlorohydrin product(s). (3) Exotichydrochlorination reagents may drive the reaction by scavenging water,but oftentimes produce a by-product inconsistent with the economicproduction of a commodity. (4) All of the above approaches producehigher levels of unwanted RCls, as defined above for glycerinhydrochlorination. (5) When the reaction is run at elevated pressure tocontrol evaporization of the reactor contents, low partial pressures ofHCl result in low conversions or retarded reaction rates.

The prior art concludes that water removal is required to promotecomplete conversion of glycerin to dichlorohydrins. To accommodate thiswater removal requirement, the prior art reactions are conducted underazeotropic or reactive distillation or extraction conditions whichrequires a co-solvent or chaser and considerable capital addition to theprocess. All prior art has concluded that there is an equilibriumlimitation to this conversion due to the presence of water in thereaction mixture.

It is desired in the industry to provide a hydrochlorination process forthe production of high purity chlorohydrins frommultihydroxylated-aliphatic hydrocarbons which overcome all of theinadequacies of the prior art. It would, therefore, be an advance in theart of chlorohydrin chemistry to discover a simple and cost-effectivemethod of transforming diols and triols to chlorohydrins.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to a process for producing achlorohydrin, an ester of a chlorohydrin, or a mixture thereofcomprising the step of contacting a crude glycerol an ester of a crudeglycerol, or a mixture thereof with a source of a superatmosphericpartial pressure of hydrogen chloride, in the presence of a catalyst toproduce a chlorohydrin, an ester of a chlorohydrin, or a mixturethereof, said contacting step carried out without substantial removal ofwater; wherein said crude glycerol, said ester of crude glycerol, ormixture thereof is derived from a renewable raw material.

“Superatmospheric pressure” herein means that the hydrogen chloride(HCl) partial pressure is above atmospheric pressure, i.e. 15 psia orgreater.

It is an objective of the present invention to minimize the formation ofunwanted RCl's or chlorinated glycerol oligomers using the process ofthe present invention.

One embodiment of the present invention uses hydrogen chloride gas asthe hydrogen chloride source to produce a chlorohydrin.

Another embodiment of the present invention relates to a process forpreparing a chlorohydrin comprising the step of contacting together at asuperatmospheric partial pressure of HCl, for example in the range offrom about 20 psia to about 1000 psia; and at a sufficient temperature,for example in the range of from about 25° C. to about 300° C.: (a) acrude glycerol, for example a crude 1,2,3-triol; (b) a catalyst thatfacilitates the conversion of the multihydroxylated-aliphatichydrocarbon to a chlorohydrin, for example a carboxylic acid, an ester,a lactone, an amide or a lactam; and mixtures thereof; and (c) ahydrogen chloride source, for example hydrogen chloride gas; wherein theprocess is carried out without substantially removing water during thecontacting step; and wherein said crude glycerol is derived from arenewable raw material.

Still another embodiment of the present invention relates to a processfor preparing a chlorohydrin comprising the step of contacting togetherat a superatmospheric partial pressure of HCl, for example in the rangeof from about 20 psia to about 1000 psia; and at a sufficienttemperature, for example in the range of from about 25° C. to about 300°C.: (a) an ester of a crude glycerol, for example crude glycerinmonoacetate; and (b) a hydrogen chloride source, for example hydrogenchloride; wherein the process is carried out without substantiallyremoving water during the contacting step; and wherein said crudeglycerol is derived from a renewable raw material.

Advantages of a superatmospheric pressure process of the presentinvention over an atmospheric process of the prior art include forexample: (1) The present invention process is simplified in that waterremoval is not required and a co-solvent/chaser is not required. A“superatmospheric pressure process” herein means a process wherereaction occurs under the conditions that the hydrogen chloride (HCl)partial pressure is above atmospheric pressure, i.e. 15 psia or greater.The present invention process may be run without additional additives,such as azeotroping agents. (2) The catalyst/HCl partialpressure/temperature range used in the process of the present inventionwithout water removal accelerates the conversion rate of amultihydroxylated-aliphatic hydrocarbon to a chlorohydrin by almost20-fold. The prior art militated away from using a superatmospheric HClpartial pressure, due to the need by the prior art processes for waterremoval. (3) Unexpectedly, water allowed to accumulate in a highpressure reaction mixture allows for higher rate of conversion with ahigher selectivity process than the prior art, viz, less chlorinatedethers, less RCls are formed in the present invention process than inthe prior art atmospheric HCl process. (4) The catalysts used in thepresent invention process exhibit improvements over other catalysts usedin the prior art such as acetic acid, thereby driving selectivity higherand increasing the rate of the process. (5) The superatmosphericpressure process of the present invention uses far less HCl than theatmospheric pressure process of the prior art to achieve even moreconversion (for example, 1-25% HCl excess for the present inventionversus a 700-1400% excess for the prior art).

The superatmospheric pressure process allows the use of crude, wetglycerol as a multihydroxylated-aliphatic hydrocarbon starting material,yet still achieves higher selectivity and faster conversion than priorart without requiring additional water removal.

Another benefit of the present invention is a simplified processresulting from the use of low volatility, recycleable catalysts, andconsequently improved process economics.

The superatmospheric pressure process of the present invention addressesa need in the art by providing a means for rapidly (for example, lessthan about 12 hours) converting a multihydroxylated-aliphatichydrocarbon or an ester thereof to a chlorohydrin in high per-pass yield(for example greater than 90 mole %) and high selectivity (for example,greater than 90 mole %). Surprisingly, the method of the presentinvention can be carried out without azeotropic or in situ removal ofwater.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a process flowchart illustrating one embodiment of the processof the present invention referred to herein as a once-through, norecycle process.

FIG. 2 is a process flowchart illustrating another embodiment of theprocess of the present invention referred to herein as a catalyst andintermediate recycle process.

FIG. 3 is a process flowchart illustrating another embodiment of theprocess of the present invention referred to herein as a catalyst andintermediate recycle process with transesterification.

FIG. A is graphical illustration showing the results of the amount, inmole %, of conversion of glycerol to monochlorohydrins anddichlorohydrins as a function of time, carried out using an example thatis not part of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In one broad aspect of the present invention, the present invention is aprocess of converting a multihydroxylated-aliphatic hydrocarbon or anester thereof to a chlorohydrin or an ester thereof comprising the stepof contacting the multihydroxylated-aliphatic hydrocarbon or esterthereof with a hydrogen chloride source at superatmospheric partialpressure and under reaction conditions to produce the chlorohydrin orester thereof with the substantial absence of water removal.“Substantial absence of water removal” herein means that during thereaction process step or steps, no method is employed to remove thewater present in the process (for example, either water of reaction orthat introduced with the feed component(s)) during the hydrochlorinationstep. These methods may include any reactive, cryoscopic, extractive,azeotropic, absorptive or evaporative in-situ or ex-situ techniques orany known techniques for water removal.

As used herein, the term “multihydroxylated-aliphatic hydrocarbon”refers to a hydrocarbon which contains at least two hydroxyl groupsattached to separate saturated carbon atoms. Themultihydroxylated-aliphatic hydrocarbon may contain, but not to belimited thereby, from 2 to about 60 carbon atoms.

Any single carbon of a multihydroxylated-aliphatic hydrocarbon bearingthe hydroxyl (OH) functional group must possess no more than one OHgroup, and must be sp3 hybridized. The carbon atom bearing the OH groupmay be primary, secondary or tertiary. The multihydroxylated-aliphatichydrocarbon used in the present invention must contain at least two sp3hybridized carbons each bearing an OH group. Themultihydroxylated-aliphatic hydrocarbon includes any vicinal-diol(1,2-diol) or triol (1,2,3-triol) containing hydrocarbon includinghigher orders of contiguous or vicinal repeat units. The definition ofmultihydroxylated-aliphatic hydrocarbon also includes for example one ormore 1,3-1,4-, 1,5- and 1,6-diol functional groups as well. Themultihydroxylated-aliphatic hydrocarbon may also be a polymer such aspolyvinylalcohol. Geminal-diols, for example, would be precluded fromthis class of multihydroxylated-aliphatic hydrocarbon compounds.

It is to be understood that the multihydroxylated-aliphatic hydrocarboncan contain aromatic moieties or heteroatoms including for examplehalide, sulfur, phosphorus, nitrogen, oxygen, silicon, and boronheteroatoms; and mixtures thereof.

“Chlorohydrin” is used herein to describe a compound containing at leastone hydroxyl group and at least one chlorine atom attached to separatesaturated carbon atoms. A chlorohydrin that contains at least twohydroxyl groups is also a multihydroxylated-aliphatic hydrocarbon.Accordingly, the starting material and product of the present inventioncan each be chlorohydrins; in that case, the product chlorohydrin ismore highly chlorinated than the starting chlorohydrin, i.e., has morechlorine atoms and fewer hydroxyl groups than the starting chlorohydrin.Some preferred chlorohydrins are chlorohydrins used, for example, as astarting material. Other preferred chlorohydrins are, for example,chloroethanol, chloropropanol, chloropropanediol, dichloropropanol, anda combination of at least two or more these compounds. A more preferredhighly chlorinated chlorohydrin such as a dichlorohydrin, may be, forexample, a product of the process of the present invention. Otherpreferred chlorohydrins useful in the present invention include forexample, 2-chloroethanol, 1-chloropropane-2-ol, 2-chloropropane-1-ol,1-chloropropane-2,3-diol, 2-chloropropane-1,3-diol,1,3-dichloropropane-2-ol, 2,3-dichloropropane-1-ol, and combinations ofat least two or more of these compounds.

In the process according to the present invention, themultihydroxylated-aliphatic hydrocarbon used can be a crudemultihydroxylated-aliphatic hydrocarbon product or a purifiedmultihydroxylated-aliphatic hydrocarbon product. A “crude”multihydroxylated-aliphatic hydrocarbon product is amultihydroxylated-aliphatic hydrocarbon which has not been submitted toany treatment after its manufacture. A “purified”multihydroxylated-aliphatic hydrocarbon product is amultihydroxylated-aliphatic hydrocarbon which has been submitted to atleast one treatment after its manufacture. When themultihydroxylated-aliphatic hydrocarbon is a crude product obtained fromrenewable raw materials, it can comprise, for example, water in additionto a metal salt. The metal salt is in particular a metal chloride, whichis preferably chosen from NaCl and KCl. The metal salt can also beselected from metal sulphates such as sodium sulphate and potassiumsulfate. The multihydroxylated-aliphatic hydrocarbon used in the processaccording to the invention contains at least one solid or dissolvedmetal salt which is preferably selected from sodium chloride, potassiumchloride, sodium sulfate and potassium sulfate. The same considerationsapply to the ester of a multihydroxylated-aliphatic hydrocarbon, or themixture of the ester of a multihydroxylated-aliphatic hydrocarbon andthe multihydroxylated-aliphatic hydrocarbon.

In the process according to the present invention, the crudemultihydroxylated aliphatic hydrocarbon product can also contain organicimpurities such as carbonyl compounds, for example aldehydes, fattyacids, salts of fatty acids or esters of fatty acids, such as inparticular mono- or polyesters of the multihydroxylated-aliphatichydrocarbon with fatty acid, optionally in combination with water. Whenthe multihydroxylated-aliphatic hydrocarbon is glycerol, fatty acids aresaturated and unsaturated fatty acids containing more than 12 carbonatoms like for instance oleic, linoleic and linolenic acids. Those acidsare for instance produced during the conversion of colza oil bysaponification, trans-esterification and hydrolysis reactions. Theorganic impurities typically may include fatty acids and theirderivatives.

In one embodiment of the process according to the present invention, thecrude multihydroxylated aliphatic hydrocarbon product may generallycomprise at least 40 % by weight of the multihydroxylated-aliphatichydrocarbon. Often, the crude product comprises at least 50% by weightof the multihydroxylated-aliphatic hydrocarbon. Preferably, it comprisesat least 70% by weight of the multihydroxylated-aliphatic hydrocarbon.Often, the crude product comprises at most 99% by weight of themultihydroxylated-aliphatic hydrocarbon. Typically, it comprises at most95% by weight of the multihydroxylated-aliphatic hydrocarbon.

In another embodiment of the present invention, the crudemultihydroxylated-aliphatic hydrocarbon product comprises at most 89% byweight of the multihydroxylated-aliphatic hydrocarbon. In thatembodiment, the crude multihydroxylated-aliphatic hydrocarbon productcomprises at most 85% by weight of the multihydroxylated-aliphatichydrocarbon. In that embodiment, the crude multihydroxylated-aliphatichydrocarbon product comprises generally at least 10% by weight of waterand often at least 14% by weight of water.

The term “epoxide” is used to describe a compound containing at leastone oxygen bridge on a carbon-carbon bond. Generally, the carbon atomsof the carbon-carbon bond are contiguous and the compound can includeother atoms than carbon and oxygen atoms, like hydrogen and halogens,fix example. Preferred epoxides are ethylene oxide, propylene oxide,glycidol and epichlorohydrin.

Consequently, the present invention also relates in particular to aprocess for producing a chlorinated organic compound, according to whicha multihydroxylated-aliphatic hydrocarbon, or a mixture thereof,obtained from renewable raw materials is used, and themultihydroxylated-aliphatic hydrocarbon, the ester of amultihydroxylated-aliphatic hydrocarbon, or the mixture thereof, usedcontains at least one solid or dissolved metal salt and the processcomprises a separation operation to remove at least part of the metalsalt. It is understood that the methods of production describedhereinafter can also be carried out with multihydroxylated-aliphatichydrocarbons, esters of a multihydroxylated-aliphatic hydrocarbon, ormixtures of esters of a multihydroxylated-aliphatic hydrocarbon andmultihydroxylated-aliphatic hydrocarbons in general and are not limitedto the preferred use of a multihydroxylated-aliphatic hydrocarbon,esters of a multihydroxylated-aliphatic hydrocarbon, or mixtures thereofobtained from renewable raw materials.

Multihydroxylated-aliphatic hydrocarbons useful in the present inventioninclude for example 1,2-ethanediol; 1,2-propanediol; 1,3-propanediol;1-chloro-2,3-propanediol; 2-chloro-1,3-propanediol; 1,4-butanediol;1,5-pentanediol; cyclohexanediols; 1,2-butanediol;1,2-cyclohexanedimethanol; 1,2,3-propanetriol (also known as, and usedherein interchangeable as, “glycerin”, “glycerine”, or “glycerol”); andmixtures thereof. Preferably, the multihydroxylated-aliphatichydrocarbons used in the present invention include for example1,2-ethanediol; 1,2-propanediol; 1,3-propanediol;1-chloro-2,3-propanediol; 2-chloro-1,3-propanediol; and1,2,3-propanetriol; with 1,2,3-propanetriol being most preferred.

The esters of a multihydroxylated aliphatic hydrocarbon can be presentin the multihydroxylated aliphatic hydrocarbon and/or produced duringthe chlorohydrin production method and/or produced in advance of thechlorohydrin production method. Examples of esters ofmultihydroxylated-aliphatic hydrocarbons useful in the present inventioninclude for example ethylene glycol monoacetate, propanediolmonoacetates, glycerin monoacetates, glycerin monostearates, glycerindiacetates, and mixtures thereof. In one embodiment, such esters can bemade from mixtures of multihydroxylated-aliphatic hydrocarbons withexhaustively esterified multihydroxylated-aliphatic hydrocarbons, forexample mixtures of glycerol triacetate and glycerol.

The multihydroxylated aliphatic hydrocarbon, the ester of amultihydroxylated aliphatic hydrocarbon, or the mixture thereof,according to the present invention may be a crude multihydroxylatedaliphatic hydrocarbon, the ester of a crude multihydroxylated aliphatichydrocarbon, or the mixture thereof; and may be obtained from renewableraw materials or biomass.

“Renewable raw materials,” herein means materials designated asoriginating from the treatment of renewable natural resources. Amongsuch materials, “natural” ethylene glycol, “natural” propylene glycol,and “natural” glycerol are preferred. Ethylene glycol, propylene glycoland “natural” glycerol are, for example, obtained via the conversion ofsugars via known and unknown methods. As described in “OrganicChemistry, 3rd Ed. (Morrison & Boyd, Allyn & Bacon Publishers, 1973,pages 1070-1128)”, incorporated herein by reference, these sugars maycome from, for example, sucrose sourced from crops such as cane orbeets, amylose, glucose or maltose sourced from starch, or cellobiosesourced from cellulose. These sugars can also be obtained from biomass,as described in “Industrial Bioproducts; Today and Tomorrow, Energetics,Incorporated for the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of EnergyEfficiency and Renewable Energy, Office of the Biomass Program, July2003, pages 49,52 to 56”, incorporated herein by reference.

One of the methods described in the above reference includes, forexample, the catalytic sorbitol hydrogenolysis obtained via thethermochemical conversion of glucose. Another method is, for example,the catalytic xylitol hydrogenolysis obtained via the hydrogenation ofxylose. Xylose can for example be obtained via hydrolysis of thehemicellulose contained in corn fibers. By “natural glycerol”, or“glycerol obtained from renewable raw materials”, it is meant herein todesignate in particular glycerol obtained during biodiesel production orglycerol obtained during the transformation of vegetable or animal fatsand oils, and in general, during the reactions of saponification,trans-esterification, or hydrolysis.

Among oils suitable for natural glycerol production, includes all commonoils, such as palm oil, palm kernel oil, copra oil, babassu oil, rapeoil, sunflower oil, corn oil, castor oil, cottonseed oil, peanut oil,soy oil, flaxseed oil, crambe oil, and all oils originating from, forexample, any sunflower or rape plants obtained via genetic modificationor hybridization; and combinations thereof.

In addition, frying oils may be used in the present invention, as wellas various animal oils, such as fish oils, tallow oil, lard oil, andoils obtained via quartering; and combinations thereof.

Among the oils useful in the present invention, includes for examplepartially modified oils via, for example, polymerization oroligomerization as is the case in “stand oils” of flaxseed oils,sunflower oils and blown vegetable oils; and mixtures thereof.

One particularly suitable glycerol useful in the present invention maybe obtained during the transformation of animal fats. Anotherparticularly suitable glycerol which may be used in the presentinvention, can be obtained during the production of oleochemicals orbiodiesel. Still another suitable glycerol for use in the presentinvention can be obtained during the transformation of fats oroils—animal or vegetable—via trans-esterification in the presence of aheterogeneous catalyst, as described in FR 2752242, FR 2869612, and FR2869613, each incorporated herein by reference. In such process it isadvantageous to use a heterogeneous catalyst comprising mixed aluminumand zinc oxides, mixed zinc and titan oxides, mixed zinc, titan andaluminum oxides, and the mixed bismuth and aluminum oxides; and mixturesthereof. The heterogeneous catalyst may be operated in a fixed bed. Thislatter method, for example, can be a biodiesel production method.

Glycerol sourced from production of oleochemicals or biodiesel may beadvantageously used in the present invention because of its lower costwhen taken as crude glycerol, or when taken as un-neutralized crudeglycerol. As described in “Process Economics Program Report 251,Biodiesel Production (October 2004), (R. G. Bray, SRI Consulting,pp.7-10 to 7-14)”, incorporated herein by reference, the alkalinecatalyzed transesterification of oils or fats with alcohols to alkylesters and glycerol results in a two phase mixture ofalkaline-containing glycerol and alkyl esters. The crude mixtures ofmultihydroxylated-aliphatic hydrocarbons of the present invention may beused in any desirable non-limiting concentration. In general, higherconcentrations are preferred for economic reasons. Useful concentrationsfor the multihydroxylated-aliphatic hydrocarbons of the presentinvention may include, for example from about 0.01 mole % to about 99.99mole %, preferably from about 1 mole % to about 99.5 mole %, morepreferably from about 5 mole % to about 99 mole %, and most preferablyfrom about 10 mole % to about 95 mole %.

Likewise, the un-neutralized crude glycerin of the present invention maybe used in any desirable non-limiting concentration. In general, higherconcentrations are preferred for economic reasons. Useful concentrationsfor the un-neutralized crude glycerin of the present invention mayinclude, for example, from about 0.01 mole % to about 99.99 mole %,preferably from about 1 mole % to about 99.5 mole %, more preferablyfrom about 5 mole % to about 99 mole %, and most preferably from about10 mole % to about 95 mole %. The composition of this un-neutralizedcrude glycerin may also include, for example, up to 10 mole % alkalimetal, up to 30 mole % alkyl esters, up to 20% fatty acids or alkalisalts of fatty acids, up to 50 mole % methanol, up to 50 mole % water.

The hydrogen chloride source used in the present invention is preferablyintroduced as a gas, a liquid or in a solution or a mixture, or amixture thereof, such as for example a mixture of hydrogen chloride andnitrogen gas, so long as the required partial pressures of the hydrogenchloride are provided for the process of the present invention.

The most preferred hydrogen chloride source is hydrogen chloride gas.Other forms of chloride may be employed in the present inventionprovided that the required partial pressure of hydrogen chloride isgenerated. Chloride in particular may be introduced.with any number ofcations including those associated with phase transfer reagents such asquaternary ammonium and phosphonium salts (for exampletetra-butylphosphonium chloride). Alternatively, ionic liquids suchn-butyl-2-methylimidazolium chloride may be used as a synergist topromote the acid catalyzed displacement of OH from themultihydroxylated-aliphatic hydrocarbon.

It is also known that these other halide sources may act as co-catalystsfor the hydrochlorination of alcohols. In this respect catalytic amountsof iodide or bromide may be used to accelerate these reactions. Thesereagents may be introduced as gases, liquids or as counterion saltsusing a phase transfer or ionic liquid format. The reagents may also beintroduced as metal salts wherein the alkali or transition metalcounterion does not promote oxidation of the multihydroxylated-aliphatichydrocarbon. Care must be employed in using these co-catalysts incontrolled hydrochlorination processes because the potential for RClformation may increase. Mixtures of different sources of halide may beemployed, for example hydrogen chloride gas and an ionic chloride, suchas tetraalkylammonium chloride or a metal halide. For example, the metalhalide may be sodium chloride, potassium iodide, potassium bromide andthe like.

In an embodiment of the present invention where themultihydroxylated-aliphatic hydrocarbon is the starting material, asopposed to an ester of the multi-hydroxylated aliphatic hydrocarbon as astarting material, it is preferred that the formation of chlorohydrin bepromoted by the presence of a catalyst. In another embodiment of thepresent invention, where the ester of the multihydroxylated-aliphatichydrocarbon is used as the starting material, preferably a partialester, the catalyst exists inherently in the ester, and therefore theuse of a separate catalyst component is optional. However, an additionalcatalyst may still be included in the present process to further promoteconversion to the desired products. Additional catalyst may also be usedin the case where the starting material includes a combination ofesterified and nonesterifed multihydroxylated-aliphatic hydrocarbons.

When a catalyst is used in the superatmospheric pressure process of thepresent invention, the catalyst may be for example a carboxylic acid; ananhydride; an acid chloride; an ester; a lactone; a lactam; an amide; ametal organic compound such as sodium acetate; or a combination thereof.Any compound that is convertable to a carboxylic acid or afunctionalized carboxylic acid under the reaction conditions of thepresent invention may also be used.

A preferred carboxylic acid for the superatmospheric pressure process isan acid with a functional group consisting of a halogen, an amine, analcohol, an alkylated amine, a sulfhydryl, an aryl group or an alkylgroup, or combinations thereof, wherein this moiety is not stericallyhindering the carboxylic acid group. A preferred acid for this presentprocess is acetic acid.

Examples of carboxylic acids usefulness as a catalyst in the presentinvention include, acetic acid, propionic acid, 4-methylvaleric acid,adipic acid, 4-droxyphenylacetic acid, 6-chlorohexanoic acid,4-aminobutyric acid, hexanoic acid, heptanoic acid,4-dimethylaminobutyric acid, 6-aminohexanoic acid, 6-hydroxyhexanoicacid, 4-aminophenylacetic acid, 4-trimethylammonium butyric acidchloride, polyacrylic acid, polyethylene grafted with acrylic acid, adivinylbenzene/methacrylic acid copolymer, and mixtures thereof.Examples of anhydrides include acetic anhydride, maleic anhydride, andmixtures thereof. Examples of acid chlorides include acetyl chloride,6-chlorohexanoyl chloride, 6-hydroxyhexanoyl chloride and mixturesthereof. Examples of esters include methyl acetate, methyl propionate,methyl pivalate, methyl butyrate, ethylene glycol monoacetate, ethyleneglycol diacetate, propanediol monoacetates, propanediol diacetates,glycerin monoacetates, glycerin diacetates, glycerin triacetate, aglycerin ester of a carboxylic acid (including glycerin mono-, di-, andtri-esters), and combinations thereof. Examples of most preferredlactones include ε-caprolactone, γ-butyrolactone, δ-valerolactone andmixtures thereof. An example of a lactam is ε-caprolactam. Zinc acetateis an example of a metal organic compound.

A preferred catalyst used in the present invention is a carboxylic acid,an ester of a carboxylic acid, or a combination thereof, particularly anester or acid having a boiling point higher than that of the desiredhighest boiling chlorohydrin that is formed in the reaction mixture sothat the chlorohydrin can be removed without removing the catalyst.Catalysts which meet this definition and are useful in the presentinvention include for example, polyacrylic acid, glycerin esters ofcarboxylic acids (including glycerin mono-, di-, and tri-esters),polyethylene grafted with acrylic acid, 6-chlorohexanoic acid,4-chlorobutanoic acid, caprolactone, heptanoic acid,4-hydroxyphenylacetic acid, 4-aminophenylacetic acid, 6-hydroxyhexanoicacid, 4-aminobutyric acid, 4-trimethylammoniumbutyric acid chloride,stearic acid, 5-chlorovaleric acid, 6-hydroxyhexanoic acid,4-aminophenylacetic acid, and mixtures thereof.

Carboxylic acids, RCOOH, catalyze the hydrochlorination ofmultihydroxylated-aliphatic hydrocarbons to chlorohydrins. The specificcarboxylic acid catalyst chosen for the process of the present inventionmay be based upon a number of factors including for example, itsefficacy as a catalyst, its cost, its stability to reaction conditions,and its physical properties. The particular process, and process schemein which the catalyst is to be employed may also be a factor inselecting the particular catalyst for the present process. The “R”groups of the carboxylic acid may be chosen from hydrogen or hydrocarbylgroups, including alkyl, aryl, aralkyl, and alkaryl. The hydrocarbylgroups may be linear, branched or cyclic, and may be substituted orun-substituted. Permissible substituents include any functional groupthat does not detrimentally interfere with the performance of thecatalyst, and may include heteroatoms. Non-limiting examples ofpermissible functional groups include chloride, bromide, iodide,hydroxyl, phenol, ether, amide, primary amine, secondary amine, tertiaryamine, quaternary ammonium, sulfonate, sulfonic acid, phosphonate, andphosphonic acid.

The carboxylic acids useful in the present invention may be monobasicsuch as acetic acid, formic acid, propionic acid, isobutyric acid,hexanoic acid, heptanoic acid, oleic acid, or stearic acid; or polybasicsuch as succinic acid, adipic acid, or terephthalic acid. Examples ofaralkyl carboxylic acids include phenylacetic acid and4-aminophenylacetic acid. Examples of substituted carboxylic acidsinclude 4-aminobutyric acid, 4-dimethylaminobutyric acid, 6-aminocaproicacid, 4-aminophenylacetic acid, 4-hydroxyphenylacetic acid, lactic acid,glycolic acid, 4-dimethylaminobutyric acid, and4-trimethylammoniumbutyric acid. Additionally, materials that can beconverted into carboxylic acids under reaction conditions, including forexample carboxylic acid halides, such as acetyl chloride; carboxylicacid anhydrides such as acetic anhydride; carboxylic acid esters such asmethyl acetate; multihydroxylated-aliphatic hydrocarbon acetates such asglycerol 1,2-diacetate; carboxylic acid amides such as ε-caprolactam andγ-butyrolactam; and carboxylic acid lactones such as γ-butyrolactone,6-valerolactone and ε-caprolactone may also be employed in the presentinvention. Mixtures of carboxylic acids may also be used in the presentinvention.

Some carboxylic acid catalysts that may be used in the present inventionare less effective than others in the hydrochlorination process of thepresent invention, such as those bearing sterically demandingsubstituents close to the carboxylic acid group, for example2,2-dimethylbutyric acid, sterically hindered 2-substituted benzoicacids such as 2-aminobenzoic acid and 2-methylaminobenzoic acid. Forthis reason, carboxylic acids that are sterically unencumbered aroundthe carboxylic acid group are more preferred.

In the process of the present invention utilizing superatmosphericpartial pressure of HCl conditions, preferred acid catalysts used in thepresent invention include for example acetic acid, propionic acid,butyric acid, isobutyric acid, hexanoic acid, heptanoic acid,4-hydroxyphenylacetic acid, 4-aminophenylacetic acid, 4-aminobutyricacid, 4-dimethylaminobutyric acid, 4-trimethylammonium butyric acidchloride, succinic acid, 6-chlorohexanoic acid, 6-hydroxyhexanoic acid,and mixtures thereof.

In another embodiment of the present invention, some of the catalysts ofthe present invention that work in the superatmospheric pressure processdescribed above may also work surprisingly well at atmospheric andsubatmospheric pressure conditions with or without water removal.Accordingly, one embodiment of the present invention is directed to aprocess for producing a chlorohydrin, an ester of a chlorohydrin, or amixture thereof comprising the step of contacting amultihydroxylated-aliphatic hydrocarbon, an ester of amultihydroxylated-aliphatic hydrocarbon, or a mixture thereof with asource of a superatmospheric atmospheric or subatmospheric partialpressure of hydrogen chloride to produce a chlorohydrin, an ester of achlorohydrin, or a mixture thereof, in the presence of a catalyst,wherein the catalyst (i) is a carboxylate derivative having from two toabout 20 carbon atoms and containing at least one functional groupselected from the group comprising an amine, an alcohol, a halogen, ansulfhydryl, an ether, an ester, or a combination thereof, wherein thefunctional group is attached no closer to the acid function than thealpha carbon; or a precursor thereto; (ii) is less volatile than thechlorohydrin, ester of a chlorohydrin, or a mixture thereof; and (iii)contains heteroatom substituents.

One embodiment of the catalyst structure of the present invention isgenerally represented by Formula (a) shown below wherein the functionalgroup “R′” includes a functional group comprising an amine, an alcohol,a halogen, a sulfhydryl, an ether; or an alkyl, an aryl or alkaryl groupof from 1 to about 20 carbon atoms containing said functional group; ora combination thereof; and wherein the functional group “R” may includea hydrogen, an alkali, an alkali earth or a transition metal or ahydrocarbon functional group.

In accordance with the above embodiment of the present invention, thecertain catalysts may also be advantageously employed atsuperatmospheric, atmospheric or sub-atmospheric pressure, andparticularly in circumstances where water is continuously orperiodically removed from the reaction mixture to drive conversion todesirably higher levels. For example, the hydrochlorination of glycerolreaction can be practiced by sparging hydrogen chloride gas through amixture of a multihydroxylated-aliphatic hydrocarbon and a catalyst. Insuch a process, a volatile catalyst, such as acetic acid, may be atleast partially removed from the reaction solution by the hydrogenchloride gas being sparged through the solution and may be lost from thereaction medium. The conversion of the multihydroxylated-aliphatichydrocarbon to desired chlorohydrins may consequently be slowed becausethe catalyst concentration is reduced. In such a process, the use ofless volatile catalysts, such as 6-hydroxyhexanoic acid, 4-aminobutyricacid; dimethyl 4-aminobutyric acid; 6-chlorohexanoic acid; caprolactone;carboxylic acid amides such as ε-caprolactam and γ-butyrolactam;carboxylic acid lactones such as γ-butyrolactone, δ-valerolactone andε-caprolactone; caprolactam; 4-hydroxyphenyl acetic acid; 6-aminocaproicacid; 4-aminophenylacetic acid; lactic acid; glycolic acid;4-dimethylaminobutyric acid; 4-trimethylammoniumbutyric acid; andcombination thereof; and the like may be preferred. It is most desirableto employ a catalyst, under these atmospheric or subatmosphericconditions, that is less volatile than the desired chlorohydrin beingproduced. Furthermore, it is desirable that the catalyst be fullymiscible, with the multihydroxylated-aliphatic hydrocarbon employed. Ifthe catalyst is not fully miscible, it may form a second phase and thefull catalytic effect may not be realized. For this reason, it may bedesirable that the catalyst contain polar heteroatom substituents suchas hydroxyl, amino or substituted amino, or halide groups, which renderthe catalyst miscible with the multihydroxylated-aliphatic hydrocarbon,for example, glycerol.

The choice of a catalyst, for example a carboxylic acid catalyst, foruse in the process of the present invention may also be governed by thespecific process scheme employed for multihydroxylated-aliphatichydrocarbon hydrochlorination. For example, in a once-through processwhere a multihydroxylated-aliphatic hydrocarbon is reacted to as high aconversion as possible to the desired chlorohydrin, which then isfurther converted to other products without separation from thecatalyst, the carboxylic acid catalyst is subsequently not utilizedfurther. In such a process scheme, it is desirable that the carboxylicacid be inexpensive, in addition to being effective. A preferredcarboxylic acid catalyst in such a situation would be for example aceticacid.

In a recycle process, for example, wherein the produced chlorohydrinsare separated from the carboxylic acid catalyst before furtherprocessing or use, the carboxylic acid catalyst is additionally chosenbased on the ease of separation of the catalyst, and its esters with thereaction products, from the desired chlorohydrin products. In such acase, it may be preferable to employ a heavy (i.e. lower volatility)acid so that it can be readily recycled to the reactor with unreactedglycerol or intermediate monochlorohydrins for further reaction.Suitable heavy acids useful in the present invention include for example4-hydroxyphenylacetic acid, heptanoic acid, 4-aminobutyric acid,caprolactone, 6-hydroxyhexanoic acid, 6-chlorohexanoic acid,4-dimethylaminobutyric acid, 4-trimethylammoniumbutyric acid chloride,and mixtures thereof.

It is also preferred that the acid, or its esters with themultihydroxylated-aliphatic hydrocarbon being hydrochlorinated, or itsesters with the reaction intermediates or reaction products be misciblein the reaction solution. For this reason it may be desirable to selectthe carboxylic acid catalyst taking these solubility constraints intoconsideration. Thus, for example, if the multihydroxylated-aliphatichydrocarbon being hydrochlorinated is very polar, such as glycerol, somecarboxylic acid catalysts would exhibit less than complete solubility,and would form two phases upon mixing. In such a case, a more miscibleacid catalyst, such as acetic acid or 4-aminobutyric acid may bedesirable.

The catalysts useful in the present invention are effective over a broadrange of concentrations, for example from about 0.01 mole % to about99.9 mol% based upon the moles of multihydroxylated-aliphatichydrocarbon, preferably from about 0.1 mole % to about 67 mole %, morepreferably from about 0.5 mole % to about 50 mole % and most preferablyfrom about 1 mole % to about 40 mole %. The specific concentration ofcatalyst employed in the present invention may depend upon the specificcatalyst employed in the present invention and the process scheme inwhich such catalyst is employed.

For example, in a once-through process where the catalyst is used onlyonce and then discarded, it is preferred to employ a low concentrationof a highly active catalyst. In addition, it may be desirable to employan inexpensive catalyst. In such a process, concentrations of forexample, from about 0.01 mole % to about 10 mole % based on themultihydroxylated-aliphatic hydrocarbon may be used, preferably fromabout 0.1 mole % to about 6 mole %, more preferably from about 1 mole %to about 5 mole %.

In process schemes, for example, where the catalyst is recycled and usedrepeatedly, it may be desirable to employ higher concentrations thanwith a catalyst that is discarded. Such recycled catalysts may be usedfrom about 1 mole % to about 99.9 mole % based on themultihydroxylated-aliphatic hydrocarbon, preferably from about 5 mole %to about 70 mole %, more preferably from about 5 mole % to about 50 mole%, although these concentrations are to be considered non-limiting.Higher catalysts concentrations may be desirably employed to reduce thereaction time, minimize the size of process equipment and reduce theformation of undesirable, uncatalyzed side products.

Generally, it is preferred that the process of the present invention iscarried out under superatmospheric pressure conditions.“Superatmospheric pressure” herein means that the hydrogen chloride(HCl) partial pressure is above atmospheric pressure, i.e. 15 psia orgreater. Generally, the hydrogen chloride partial pressure employed inthe process of the present invention is at least about 15 psia HCl orgreater. Preferably, the pressure of the present process is not lessthan about 25 psia, more preferably not less than about 35 psia HCl, andmost preferably not less than about 55 psia; and preferably not greaterthan about 1000 psia HCl, more preferably not greater than about 600psia, and most preferably not greater than about 150 psia.

The HCl used in the present invention is most preferably anhydrous. TheHCl composition can range from 100 volume % hydrogen chloride to about50 volume % hydrogen chloride. Preferably, the HCl feed composition isgreater than about 50 volume % HCl, more preferably greater than about90 volume % HCl, and most preferably greater than about 99 volume % HCl.

The temperatures useful in the practice of the process of the presentinvention are sufficient to give economical reaction rates, but not sohigh that starting material, product or catalyst stability becomecompromised. Furthermore, high temperatures increase the rate ofundesirable uncatalyzed reactions, such as non-selectiveover-chlorination, and can result in increased rates of equipmentcorrosion. Useful temperatures in the present invention generally may befrom about 25° C. to about 300° C., preferably from about 25° C. toabout 200° C., more preferably from about 30° C. to about 160° C., evenmore preferably from about 40° C. to about 150° C., and most preferablyfrom about 50° C. to about 140° C.

The reaction of the superatmospheric pressure process of the presentinvention is advantageously rapid and may be carried out for a timeperiod of less than about 12 hours, preferably less than about 5 hours,more preferably less than about 3 hours and most preferably less thanabout 2 hours. At longer reaction times, such as above about 12 hours,the process begins to form RCls and other over-chlorinated by-products.

Surprisingly, it has been discovered that high per-pass yields and highselectivity can be achieved using the superatmospheric pressure processof the present invention. For example, a per-pass yield for thechlorohydrin based on the multihydroxylated-aliphatic hydrocarbon ofgreater than about 80%, preferably greater than about 85%, morepreferably greater than about 90%, and most preferably greater thanabout 93% can be achieved by the present invention. For example, a highselectivity of greater than about 80%, preferably greater than about85%, more preferably greater than about 90%, and most preferably greaterthan about 93% of chlorohydrins can be achieved by the process of thepresent invention. Of course, yields can be increased by recyclingreaction intermediates.

For example, when the multihydroxylated-aliphatic hydrocarbon used inthe present invention is glycerol, recycling intermediatemonochlorohydrins can increase the ultimate yield of dichlorohydrinsachieved. Moreover, unlike many of the processes of the prior art, waterremoval is not an essential feature of the process of the presentinvention in carrying out the reaction which forms the chlorohydrins. Infact, the reaction of the present invention is preferentially carriedout in the absence of water removal such as azeotropic removal of water.

In the superatmospheric pressure process of the present invention, it isalso not necessary to use starting materials that are free ofcontaminants such as water, salts or organic impurities other thanmultihydroxylated-aliphatic hydrocarbons. Accordingly, the startingmaterials may contain, generally, no more than about 50 weight percentof such contaminants. For example, a crude 1,2,3-propanetriol (crudeglycerol, neutralized or unneutralized) that may contain certainimpurities may be used in the process of the present invention. Forexample the crude glycerol useful in the present invention may containup to 25% by weight water, up to 20% by weight inorganic salts, and upto about 25% weight percent organic compounds other than glycerin. Inanother embodiment, a crude glycerol (neutralized or unneutralized) thatmay contain water (from about 0.05% to about 25% weight percent), alkali(for example, sodium or potassium) or alkaline earth (for example,calcium or magnesium) metal salts (from about 0.01% to about 20% byweight), alkali carboxylate salts (from about 0.01% to about 5% byweight), and/or organic compounds other than glycerin (from about 0.01%to about 25% weight percent) can also be used in the present inventioneffectively to produce the desired product. In still another embodiment,the crude glycerol (neutralized or unneutralized) preferably containsless than about 25 weight % water, less than about 25 weight % alkali oralkaline earth metal salts and less than about 25% organic compoundsother than glycerin, where the total impurities comprise less than about50% of the total. More preferably, the crude glycerol (neutralized orunneutralized) contains less than about 15 weight % water, less thanabout S weight % alkali or alkaline earth metal salts and less thanabout 5% organic compounds other than glycerin. And even morepreferably, the crude glycerol (neutralized or unneutralized) containsless than about 10 weight % water, less than about 0.1 weight % alkalior alkaline earth metal salts, and less than about 0.1% organiccompounds other than glycerin. Most preferably, the crude glycerol(neutralized or unneutralized) may be partially refined to contains lessthan about 10 weight % water, less than about 0.1 weight % alkali oralkaline earth metal salts, and less than about 0. 1% organic compoundsother than glycerin. Consequently, the process of the present inventionis a particularly economical approach.

In one embodiment of the process of the present invention,1,2,3-propanetriol (glycerol) is placed in a closed vessel, and heatedand pressurized under an atmosphere of HCl gas in the presence of theaforementioned catalytic amount of a carboxylic acid or ester thereof.Under the preferred conditions of the process, the major product is1,3-dichloropropan-2-ol (for example, >90% yield), with minor amounts(for example, <10% total yield) of the following products:1-chloro-2,3-propanediol, 2-chloro-1,3-propanediol and2,3-dichloropropan-1-ol; and no detectable amounts (less than 200 ppm)of 1,2,3-trichloropropane. Advantageously, both the major and minordichlorinated products (1,3-dichloro-propan-2-ol and2,3-dichloropropan-1-ol) are precursors to epichlorohydrin. Thedichlorinated products can readily be converted to epichlorohydrin byreaction with base, as is well-known in the art.

The present invention may include various process schemes, including forexample batch, semi-batch, or continuous. In one embodiment, forexample, the present invention includes the hydrochlorination of amultihydroxylated-aliphatic hydrocarbon by reaction with hydrogenchloride. The multihydroxylated-aliphatic hydrocarbon may be employedneat or diluted in an appropriate solvent. Such solvents may include forexample water and alcohols. It may be preferred to purify themultihydroxylated-aliphatic hydrocarbon before it is employed in thehydrochlorination reaction by removing contaminants, including water,organic materials or inorganic materials before use. This purificationmay include well known purification techniques such as distillation,extraction, absorption, centrifugation, or other appropriate methods.The multihydroxylated-aliphatic hydrocarbon is generally fed to theprocess as a liquid although this is not absolutely necessary.

The hydrogen chloride employed in the process is preferably gaseous. Thehydrogen chloride may, however, be diluted in a solvent such as analcohol (for example methanol); or in a carrier gas such as nitrogen, ifdesired. Optionally, the hydrogen chloride may be purified before use toremove any undesirable contaminants. It is preferred that the hydrogenchloride be substantially anhydrous although some amounts (for exampleless than about 50 mole %, preferably less than about 20 mole %, morepreferably less than about 10 mole %, even more preferably less thanabout 5 mole %, most preferably less than about 3 mole %) of waterpresent in the hydrogen chloride are not excessively detrimental. Thehydrogen chloride is fed to the process equipment in any suitablemanner. It is preferred that the process equipment is designed to ensuregood dispersal of the hydrogen chloride throughout the hydrochlorinationreactor that is employed in the present process. Therefore, single ormultiple spargers, baffles and efficient stirring mechanisms aredesirable.

The catalyst employed may be fed to the process equipment independently,or as a mixture with, or component of, the multihydroxylated-aliphatichydrocarbon or hydrogen chloride feeds.

The equipment useful for the hydrochlorination reaction of the presentinvention may be any well-known equipment in the art and should becapable of containing the reaction mixture at the conditions of thehydrochlorination. Suitable equipment may be fabricated of materialswhich are resistant to corrosion by the process components, and mayinclude for example, metals, such as tantalum, suitable metallic alloyssuch as Hastalloy C©, or glass-lined equipment. Suitable equipment mayinclude, for example, single or multiple stirred tanks, tubes or pipes,or combinations thereof.

In an exemplifying batch process, the multihydroxylated aliphatichydrocarbon and hydrochlorination catalyst are charged to a reactor.Hydrogen chloride is then added to the desired pressure and the reactorcontents heated to the desired temperature for the desired length oftime. The reactor contents are then discharged from the reactor andeither purified or sent to other equipment for further processing, or tostorage.

In an illustrative semi-batch process, one or more of the reagents isfed to a reactor over a period of time throughout the reaction whileother reagents are fed only at the start of the reaction. In such aprocess, for example, the multihydroxylated-aliphatic hydrocarbon andcatalyst may be fed in a single batch to a hydrochlorination reactor,which is then held at reaction conditions for a suitable time, whilehydrogen chloride is fed continuously throughout the reaction at thedesired rate, which may be at constant flow, or constant pressure. Afterthe reaction, the hydrogen chloride feed can be terminated and thereactor contents may be discharged for storage, purification or furtherprocessing.

In the large-scale production of chemicals it is often desirable toemploy a continuous process since the economic advantage of doing so isusually greater than for batch processing. The continuous process maybe, for example, a single-pass or a recycle process. In a single-passprocess, one or more of the reagents pass through the process equipmentonce, and then the resulting effluent from the reactor is sent forpurification or further processing. In such a scheme, themultihydroxylated-aliphatic hydrocarbon and catalyst may be fed to theequipment and hydrogen chloride added as desired at a single point or atmultiple points throughout the process equipment, which may includecontinuous stirred tank reactors, tubes, pipes or combinations thereof.

Alternatively, the catalyst employed may be a solid which is retainedwithin the process equipment by means of a filter or equivalent device.The reagents and catalysts are fed at such a rate that the residencetime in the process equipment is appropriate to achieve a desiredconversion of the multihydroxylated-aliphatic hydrocarbon to products.The material exiting the process equipment is sent to storage, forpurification or further processing, as desired. In such a process, it isgenerally desirable to convert as much multihydroxylated-aliphatichydrocarbon to desired product as possible.

In a continuous recycle process, one or more of the unreactedmultihydroxylated-aliphatic hydrocarbon, reaction intermediates,hydrogen chloride, or catalyst exiting from the process equipment arerecycled back to a point earlier in the process. In this manner, rawmaterial efficiencies are maximized or catalysts reused. Since catalystsare reused in such a process scheme, it may be desirable to employ thecatalysts in a higher concentration than they are employed in asingle-pass process where they are often discarded. This may result infaster reactions, or smaller process equipment, which results in lowercapital costs for the equipment employed. In a continuous recycleprocess, undesirable impurities may build up in the process. Thus, it isdesirable to provide a means for removing such impurities from theprocess.

Removal of the desired product from the catalysts or other processcomponents can be achieved in a variety of ways. It may be possible toachieve the separation, for example, by vaporization in a continuousfashion, either directly from the hydrochlorination reactor, or aseparate piece of equipment such as a vaporizer or a distillationcolumn. In such a case, a catalyst that is less volatile than thedesired product would be employed, so that the catalyst is retainedwithin the process equipment. Alternatively, a solid catalyst may beemployed, and the separation may be achieved, for example, byfiltration, centrifugation or vaporization. Liquid extraction,absorption or chemical reaction may also be employed in some cases torecycle catalysts or reaction intermediates.

In one embodiment of the present invention, amultihydroxylated-aliphatic hydrocarbon is hydrochlorinated using ahydrochlorination catalyst chosen to be less volatile than the desiredhydrochlorination products. After the hydrochlorination reaction,additional multihydroxylated-aliphatic hydrocarbon is added to thereaction products, excess starting materials, reaction intermediates andcatalyst. It is thought that this liberates some of the desiredhydrochlorination product which may have existed as an ester of thecatalyst, so that the desired product can be more completely recoveredfrom the reaction solution by vaporization. After recovery of thedesired hydrochlorination product, the remainder of the process streamcan be recycled to the hydrochlorination stream. This process schemealso may have the advantage of minimizing the amount of hydrogenchloride lost since much of that remaining in the process stream afteraddition of multihydroxylated-aliphatic hydrocarbon would be consumed byreaction with the newly added multihydroxylated-aliphatic hydrocarbon.

The particular process scheme employed may depend upon many factorsincluding, for example, the identity, cost and purity of themultihydroxylated-aliphatic hydrocarbon being hydochlorinated, thespecific process conditions employed, the separations required to purifythe product, and other factors. The examples of processes describedherein are not to be considered as limiting the present invention.

FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 show three non-limiting embodiments of thehydrochlorinated process of the present invention. The examplesillustrating the present invention process shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 areonly preferred embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 1, for example, shows a process of the present invention generallyindicated by numeral 10, wherein a multihydroxylated-aliphatichydrocarbon such as a glycerol feed stream, 11, is introduced into areaction vessel, 15. The reaction vessel 15, may be of any well-knownsuitable type, including for example, one or more continuous stirredtank reactors (CSTRs) or tubular reactors; or combinations thereof.

Also introduced to vessel 15, are a hydrogen chloride feed stream, 12,and a carboxylic acid or carboxylic acid precursor catalyst feed stream,13. Streams 12 and 13 may be introduced into vessel 15 either separatelyor together. In addition, optionally, all of the streams 11, 12, and 13may be combined together into one feed stream. Any of the streams 11,12, or 13, may be introduced at a single point or at multiple points ofvessel 15. In vessel 15, glycerol is partially or fully converted to itsesters with the carboxylic acid catalyst, monochlorohydrins anddichlorohydrins and their esters. Stream 14, containing, for exampledichlorohydrins, monochlorohydrins, unreacted glycerol, and theiresters, water, unreacted hydrogen chloride and catalyst exits vessel 15,and may be sent to storage, to further processing such as purification,or to other equipment for further reaction.

For example, in one embodiment, stream 14, may be reacted with a base toform epichlorohydrin. The carboxylic acid catalyst in such a process maybe chosen based on its efficacy at low concentration and its low cost.For example, the carboxylic acid may be acetic acid or propionic acid.

FIG. 2 shows another embodiment of the process of the present inventiongenerally indicated by numeral 20, in which a feed stream 21 containinga multihydroxylated-aliphatic hydrocarbon such as a glycerol is fed tovessel 26, which may be one or more CSTRs or tubular reactors, orcombinations thereof. Also fed to vessel 26 is feed stream 22,containing hydrogen chloride. Also fed to vessel 26 is a recycle stream25, recycled from vessel 27, containing, for example, unreactedglycerol, monochlorohydrins and their esters with the catalyst, which isalso recycled in this stream 25.

In vessel 26, glycerol is converted to monochlorohydrins and theiresters; and monochlorohydrins are converted to dichlorohydrins and theiresters. Stream 23, containing, for example, dichlorohydrins,monochlorohydrins, unreacted glycerol and their esters with thecarboxylic acid catalyst, water, unreacted hydrogen chloride andcatalyst exits vessel 26, and is fed to vessel 27. In vessel 27, atleast some of the desired dichlorohydrins, water, and unreacted hydrogenchloride, as stream 24, are separated from monochlorohydrins and theiresters, unreacted glycerol and its esters and catalyst, as recyclestream 25, which is recycled to vessel 26. Stream 25 may also optionallycontain some dichlorohydrins and their esters. Optionally, a purgestream may also exit vessel 27 as a stream 28 from the recycle stream 25and/or from the vessel 27 via purge stream 29. The purge stream maycomprise compositions of the recycle stream; or salts or heavies thatare either fed in with the crude multihydroxylated-aliphatichydrocarbons or produced in the process.

Vessel 27 may comprise any well-known suitable separation vessel,including one or more distillation columns, flash vessels, extraction,absorption columns, centrifuges, crystallizers, membrane separators,cyclones, evaporators, heat exchangers or filters; or any suitable knownseparation apparatuses known in the art. Product stream 24 may be sentto storage, to further processing for example purification, or to afurther reaction, for example, conversion to epichlorohydrin. In oneexample of this process scheme, the catalyst may be chosen such that itschemical or physical properties result in a ready separation of thecatalyst or its esters from the desired dichlorohydrins. For example,the catalyst selected for this process scheme may be 6-chlorohexanoicacid, caprolactone, 4-chlorobutyric acid, stearic acid, or4-hydroxyphenylacetic acid.

FIG. 3 shows another embodiment of the process of the present inventiongenerally indicated by numeral 30, in which a vessel 36 is fed with afeed stream 31, containing hydrogen chloride; and a recycle streamcontaining glycerol, glycerol esters, monochlorohydrin and their estersand catalyst, via stream 35. In vessel 36, which may comprise one ormore CSTRs, one or more tubular reactors or combinations thereof,glycerol and monochlorohydrins are converted to dichlorohydins. Stream32, containing, for example, dichlorohydrins, monochlorohydrins,glycerol and their esters, catalyst, unreacted hydrogen chloride andwater exists vessel 36 and is fed to vessel 37. Also fed to vessel 37 isfeed stream 33, containing glycerol.

In vessel 37, glycerol reacts with the esters of monochlorohydrins anddichlorohydins to substantially liberate the free monochlorohydrins anddichlorohydins and forming glycerol esters. Additionally, at least someof the unreacted hydrogen chloride that enters vessel 37 via stream 32is also consumed to form mainly monochlorohydrins. Vessel 37 may alsoserve as a means to separate the desired dichlorohydrins from unreactedmonochlorohydrins and glycerol and their esters. Vessel 37 may include,for example, one or more centrifuges, crystallizers, membraneseparators, cyclones, evaporators, heat exchangers, filters,distillation columns, flash vessels, extractors, or any other separationequipment; or vessel 37 may be, for example, a combination of a stirredtank reactor, tubular reactor or similar vessel with the aforementionedseparation equipment. Product stream 34, exiting vessel 37 andcontaining dichlorohydrins, water and residual hydrogen chloride may besent to storage, to further processing such as purification, or to aprocess for further reaction, for example to a reaction process forpreparing epichlorohydrin. Stream 35, containing glycerol andmonochlorohydrins and their esters and catalyst exits vessel 37 to berecycled, as stream 35, to the vessel 36. Optionally, a purge stream mayalso exit vessel 37 as a stream 38 from the recycle stream 35 and/orfrom the vessel 37 via purge stream 39. The purge stream may comprisecompositions of the recycle stream; or salts or heavies that are eitherfed in with the crude multihydroxylated-aliphatic hydrocarbons orproduced in the process.

Some or all of the equipment described above with reference to FIGS. 1,2 and 3 may be made of corrosion resistant materials which are wellknown in the art.

In the process configuration of FIG. 3, it may be desirable to userelatively large amounts of catalyst, for example from about 10 mole %to about 70 mole % based on glycerol so that the rate of thehydrochlorination reaction in vessel 36 is very fast, and the equipmentconsequently small. It is also preferred that the catalyst, in theprocess configuration of FIG. 3, possess chemical or physical propertiessuch that the separation in vessel 37 is facilitated, for example, theuse of a catalyst that boils at a temperature substantially below thatat which the lowest boiling dichlorohydrins boils may be preferred whenthe separation method is distillation. Examples of such catalystsinclude 6-chlorohexanoic acid, heptanoic acid, and 4-hydroxyphenylaceticacid.

The present invention also includes a novel composition made by theprocess of the present invention. The compositions of the presentinvention made by the present process includes for example,dichlorohydrins made from glycerol. Such dichlorohydrins made by thepresent process are useful in that they comprise high concentration ofdichlorohydins, ( i.e. 1,3-dichloropropan-2-ol and2,3-dichloropropan-1-ol) high ratios of the two isomers ofdichlorohydins and their esters, i.e. high ratios of1,3-dichloropropan-2-ol and esters to 2,3-dichloropropan-1-ol andesters, low concentrations of glycerol and its esters andmonochlorohydrins, i.e. 2-chloro-1,3-propanediol and1-chloro-2,3-propanediol and their esters, and low concentrations ofundesirable byproducts, i.e. 1,2,3-trichloropropane and chlorinatedglycerol oligomeric ethers, such as bis (3-chloro-2-hydroxypropyl)ether,and their esters.

The compositions of the present invention are useful in the manufactureof epichlorohydrin, giving high yields of high purity epichlorohydrin inshort reaction times with low levels of chlorinated by-products that aredifficult or expensive to dispose of.

As one embodiment and an illustration of the present invention, but notto be bound thereby, useful compositions (excluding water and inorganicimpurities) which may be made in accordance with the present invention,may be made for example from glycerol hydrochlorination. The followingabbreviations are used in the tables below: “1,3-Dichlorohydrin” is1,3-dichloropropan-2-ol; “2,3-dichlorohydrin” is2,3-dichloropropan-1-ol; “Monochlorohydrins” include:1-chloro-2,3-propanediol and 2-chloro-1,3-propanediol and mixturesthereof. Generally, such compositions include for example the followingcomponents, excluding fatty acid methyl esters and the like: ComponentMole % Glycerol and its esters from 0.1 to 1 Monochlorohydrins and theiresters from 4 to 10 1,3-Dichlorohydrin and its esters greater than 802,3-Dichlorohydrin and its esters from 1 to 4 1,2,3-Trichloropropaneless than 1 Chlorinated glycerol ethers and their esters less than 0.3

The 1,3-dichlorohydrin to 2,3-dichlorohydrin ratio in the abovecomposition is generally from about 8:1 to about 100:1.

Preferably, the composition of the present invention may be as follows:Component Mole % Glycerol and its esters from 0.01 to 0.1Monochlorohydrins and their esters from 3 to 8 1,3-Dichlorohydrin andits esters greater than 85 2,3-Dichlorohydrin and its esters from 1 to 31,2,3-Trichloropropane less than 0.1 Chlorinated glycerol ethers andtheir esters less than 0.2

More preferably, the composition of the present invention may be asfollows: Component Mole % Glycerol and its esters from 0.001 to 0.1Monochlorohydrins and their esters from 2 to 7 1,3-Dichlorohydrin andits esters greater than 87 2,3-Dichlorohydrin and its esters from 1 to 21,2,3-Trichloropropane less than 0.05 Chlorinated glycerol ethers andtheir esters less than 0.15

Most preferably, the composition of the present invention may be asfollows: Component Mole % Glycerol and its esters less than 0.1Monochlorohydrins and their esters from 1 to 5 1,3-Dichlorohydrin andits esters greater than 90 2,3-Dichlorohydrin and its esters from 0.1 to2 1,2,3-Trichloropropane less than 0.02 Chlorinated glycerol ethers andtheir esters less than 0.1

The above compositions of the present invention are useful in themanufacture of epichlorohydrin. High selectivity to 1,3-dichlorohydrinand its esters relative to the selectivity to 2,3-dichlorohydrin and itsesters results in more efficient and faster formation of epichlorohydinupon reaction with caustic. In addition, low levels of trichloropropane(TCP) in the present composition are desired because it minimizes thecost of handling and disposing of TCP. Low levels of glycerol andmonochlorohydrins are also desired in the present composition tomaximize glycerol raw material efficiency through high conversions tothe desired dichlorohydrins.

The following examples are for illustrative purposes only and are notintended to limit the scope of the present invention.

EXAMPLE 1 Preparation of a Chlorohydrin from Glycerol

To a 100 mL Hastelloy C™ Parr reactor equipped with a Magnedrivestirrer, internal cooling coils, and a thermocouple were added glycerol(30.0 g, obtained from Sigma-Aldrich Chemical Corporation) and glacialacetic acid (4.5 g, obtained from JT Baker Corporation). The reactor wassealed, pressurized to 90 psig with anhydrous hydrogen chloride gas(Airgas Corporation), and heated to 93° C. for 90 minutes and maintainedat 90 psig with anhydrous hydrogen chloride gas, after which the reactorwas cooled and vented at room temperature (about 25° C.). The reactorcontents (65.9 g) were collected, analyzed by gas chromatography (GC),and found to contain the following products: 1,3-dichloropropan-2-ol andits acetate ester (total 92.6 mole %) and 2,3-dichloropropan-1-ol andits acetate ester (total 1.7 mole %). Additionally, a number ofmonochlorinated compounds (total 4.4 mole %) were detected as well asunreacted glycerol and its esters (total 1.0 mole %). Notrichloropropane was detected (with a detection limit of 200 ppm).

EXAMPLE 2 Preparation of a Chlorohydrin from Glycerol/Glycerol EsterMixture

To a 200 mL Hastelloy C™ high pressure reactor was added a 10 mL glassvolumetric flask containing dry glycerol (Aldrich pre-dried over molsieves, 91 mg, 0.99 mmol), and triacetin (Aldrich, the tri-acetate esterof glycerol, 457 mg, 2.10 mmole). The reactor was sealed and pressurizedwith nitrogen to 40 psig (three pressure cycles) and was brought to 110°C. with stirring after nitrogen venting. Anhydrous HCl was introduced ata constant pressure of 76 psig and the reaction was allowed to proceedfor 3 hours. The reactor was vented providing a product that was foundto contain 25.90 area percent 1,3-dichloropropan-2-ol, 68.34 areapercent 1,3-dichloro-2-acetoxypropane, 1.57 area percent1,2-dichloro-3-acetoxypropane, 2.86 area percent2-chloropropane-1,3-diacetoxypropane and no detectable glycerol,triacetin or 1,2,3-trichloropropane as determined by GC flame ionizationdetection analysis.

EXAMPLE 3 Preparation of a Chlorohydrin from Crude Glycerol

To a 100 mL Hastelloy™ C Parr reactor equipped with a Magnedrivestirrer, internal cooling coils, and a thermocouple, were added crudeglycerol (30.0 g, obtained from Interwest Corporation) and glacialacetic acid (0.6 g, obtained from JT Baker Corporation). The reactor wassealed, pressurized to 120 psig with anhydrous hydrogen chloride gas(Airgas Corporation), and heated to 120° C. for 90 minutes whilemaintaining the pressure at 120 psig with the anhydrous hydrogenchloride gas. After this time, the reactor was cooled and vented at roomtemperature. The reactor contents (57.2 g) were collected as a mobileliquid containing a suspended white solid.

The procedure as described above was repeated and 58.0 g of reactorcontents were collected from a second reaction. The two reactionproducts (57.2 g and 58.0 g) were then combined.

After filtration to remove the white solids, sodium and potassium saltsintroduced with the crude glycerol, the filtrate was analyzed by gaschromatography and found to contain 1,3-dichloropropan-2-ol (95.3 wt %),2,3-dichloropropan-1-ol (2.6 wt %), 2-acetoxy-1,3-dichloropropane (0.7wt %), and 1-acetoxy-2,3-dichloropropane (0.1 wt %). Additionally, anumber of acetoxychloropropanols (0.87 wt %) were detected. No unreactedglycerol nor its esters, nor trichloropropanol were detected.

EXAMPLES 4-41

The following examples were performed in a 100 mL, Hastalloy C™ Parrautoclave equipped with a Magnedrive stirrer, a thermocouple andinternal cooling coils. Glycerol (30 g, 326 mmol, Aldrich 99%,) wasadded to the reactor, along with a catalyst (10 mmols) or otheradditives as described in Table I below, and water (3.0 g, 167 mmols),and then the reactor was sealed. The mass of the reactor and contentswere recorded. The reactor was stirred and ice-cooled water was cycledthrough the cooling coils. Hydrogen chloride gas (Airgas Corporation) atthe desired pressure of 110 psig was admitted to the reactor, typicallyresulting in a 15-25° C. exotherm. The reactor was heated to the desiredtemperature of 110° C., and the reaction allowed to proceed for fourhours, while hydrogen chloride gas was fed continuously at the setpressure as the hydrogen chloride gas was consumed by reaction. The massof hydrogen chloride fed to the reactor was measured by recoding themass of the cylinder throughout the reaction.

After the desired reaction time of four hours had elapsed, the hydrogenchloride feed was ceased, and the reactor and contents cooled to roomtemperature. The reactor was then vented and the mass of the reactor andcontents were recorded. The reaction product was analyzed by gaschromatography. Selectivities to dichlorohydrins are reported as100%×moles of dichlorohydrins/moles of glycerol charged.

The following abbreviations are used herein: “1,3-DCH” is1,3-dichloropropan-2-ol; “2,3-DCH” is 2,3-dichloropropan-1-ol; “1-MCH”is 1-chloro-2,3-propanediol; “2-MCH” is 2-chloro-1,3-propanediol; “BZIMBr” is n-butylmethylimidazolium bromide; “BZIM Cl” isn-butylmethylimidazolium chloride; “Bu4NCl.H2O” is tetra-n-butylammoniumchloride hydrate; and “C16Me3NCl” is n-hexadecyltrimethylammoniumchloride. TABLE I Molar Selectivities (%) Example Catalyst 1,3-DCH2,3-DCH 1-MCH sum 4 Acetic acid 90.55 1.93 1.83 94.31 5 Hexanoic acid90.67 1.91 0.79 93.36 6 2,2-Dimethylbutyric acid 4.63 0.31 38.39 43.33 73-Methylvaleric acid 59.49 1.44 27.31 88.24 8 Heptanoic acid 87.45 1.823.78 93.04 9 3,3-Dimethylbutyric acid 27.33 0.89 46.55 74.78 104-Trimethylammoniumbutyric acid 79.45 1.81 13.22 94.48 114-Dimethylaminobutyric acid 81.92 1.86 10.55 94.33 12 4-Aminobutyricacid 88.60 1.93 4.13 94.66 13 Glycine 28.74 0.79 66.71 96.24 14NNN-Trimethylglycine 5.19 0.26 43.87 49.32 15 NN-Dimethylglycine 5.370.24 46.95 52.56 16 Glycolic Acid 30.14 0.87 60.74 91.75 17 Lactic Acid53.79 1.26 36.33 91.38 18 4-Dimethylaminophenylacetic acid 72.84 1.6116.02 90.47 19 4-Aminophenylacetic acid 80.14 1.74 10.30 92.19 202-Aminobenzoic acid 5.24 0.29 35.30 40.83 21 2-Methylaminobenzoic acid3.99 0.24 30.53 34.75 22 4-Hydroxyphenylacetic acid 92.24 2.01 0.6894.94 23 Caprolactam 67.77 1.39 17.73 86.89 24 *Blank, No catalyst 3.380.17 31.43 34.98 25 4-Methylvaleric acid 88.32 1.97 0.54 90.83 264-Aminobenzoic acid 31.44 0.92 30.62 62.98 27 4-Hydroxybenzoic acid36.85 1.97 25.27 64.09 28 4-Dimethylaminobenzoic acid 31.07 0.90 35.1867.15 29 Heptanoic acid + 10 mmol BMIMBr 86.98 1.79 0.98 89.75 30Heptanoic acid + 10 mmol BMIMCl 89.95 1.85 1.07 92.86 31 Heptanoicacid + 50 mmol BMIMCl 89.59 1.81 0.91 92.32 32 Heptanoic acid + 50 mmolBMIMBr 83.47 1.63 0.55 85.65 33 Heptanoic acid + 10 mmol Bu4NCl•H2O87.69 1.76 0.75 90.20 34 Heptanoic acid + 10 mmol C16Me3NCl 89.84 1.831.23 92.90 35 Phenylacetic acid 83.96 1.78 3.36 89.09 36epsilon-Caprolactone 93.69 1.93 0.56 96.17 37 Amberlite⁽¹⁾ IRC-50 14.590.46 66.16 81.22 38 Amberlite⁽¹⁾ IRP-64 10.93 0.39 61.07 72.39 396-Chlorohexanoic acid 86.09 1.81 0.21 88.10 40 beta-Butyrolactone 64.691.55 17.77 84.02 41 gamma-Butyrolactone 93.69 1.93 0.56 96.17*Example without catalyst⁽¹⁾Amberlite ® is a registered trademark of Rohm and Haas Corporation.Amberlite IRC-50 and IRP-64 are weakly acidic ion exchange resins.

COMPARATIVE EXAMPLE A

Glycerol Reaction to Dichlorohydrin with HCl, Acetic Acid and Toluene asAzeotroping Agent at Subatmospheric Pressure

To a 500 mL Wharton baffled 3-necked flask equipped with overhead airstirrer, HCl inlet frit, Dean Stark trap with condenser were addedglycerol (92.0 g, 1.00 mol), 5 mL of acetic acid (HOAc) and 200 mL oftoluene. The reaction under positive nitrogen flow, was heated to refluxwith slow purging (no rate determined or flow control) of anhydrous HCl.After 5 hours of reflux, some 23 mL of 6N aqueous HCl was collected andNMR analysis showed the resultant bottom phase to be >85%monochlorohydrin. After 3 hours another 5 mL HOAc was added and again at6 hours; each time water evolution was very rapid after addition (1-2ml/15 minutes in trap). The phases were miscible hot after 6 hours andthen separated to two phases on cooling. The resulting products wereidentified by NMR versus standards and a retainer stripped of mosttoluene was used to provide a 122 g sample of material. The sample wasanalyzed using gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) analysis.

The results of analysis and the chemical scheme is shown in Scheme 2below.

COMPARATIVE EXAMPLE B Glycerol Reaction to Dichlorohydrin with ExcessHCl Gurge, Acetic Acid with No Azeotropic Water Removal and AtmosphericPressure

In this comparative example no attempt was made to rigorously removewater. To a 500 mL Wharton 3-necked flask equipped with overhead airstirrer, HCl inlet frit, and outlet to scrubber, was added 4 A sievedried glycerol (138.0 g, 1.50 mol), 3.8 g of HOAc (2.75% based onglycerin). This outlet tube was comprised of a non-chilled 16 inchstraight condenser (glass) connected to a 1/16 inch polyethylene outlettube (approximately 7 feet) that was flanged to a 3-foot water scrubbingtower filled with burled, ceramic saddles. The reaction under positivenitrogen flow, was heated to 100° C. and then slow purging(approximately 200 mg/minute) with anhydrous HCl was commenced. The rateand total amount of added HCl was as monitored by a weigh cell. Smallaliquots (for example 300 mg) of samples were taken through the side armat appropriate intervals to complete a crude kinetic conversion profilefrom which half-life could be obtained. The reaction internal reactiontemperature was held isothermal (100° C. ±2° C.) with an temperaturecontroller. Over a 24 hour period, a total of 700 g of anhydrous HCl waspassed through the solution. The samples were analyzed using wt % GCassays and the final sample was also analyzed for water and HCl contentpotentiometrically to obtain a total mass balance. The resulting darkbrown reaction product (minus the 200 mg retainers) after 23.75 hours ofpurging was 218.5 g.

The results of analysis and the chemical scheme are shown in Scheme 3below. The conversion of glycerol to monochlorohydrins anddichlorohydrins is shown graphically in Figure A. In Figure A, “MCH” isthe total mole % of monochlorohydrins: 3-chloro-2,3-propanediol and2-chloro-1,3-propanediol; “MCH—OAc” is the total mole % of acetateesters of MCH; and “DCH” is the total mole % of dichlorohydrins:1,3-dichloropropan-2-ol and 2,3-dichloropropan-1-ol.

EXAMPLE 42 Glycerol Reaction to Dichlorohydrin with Pressure HCl, AceticAcid and No Azeotropic Water Removal

After nitrogen purging (two 40 psig pressure/vent cycles), dry glycerin(30.0 g, 0.320 mole) containing 4 wt% acetic acid (1.2 g Aldrich) as acatalyst was subjected to static pressures 90-96 psig of anhydrous HClwith stirring and heating in a magnetically driven, 100 mL Hasteloy-CParr reactor. This reactor was equipped with an internal thermocouplewhich measured the internal solution temperature. External heating tothe reactor was provided by an immersion bath which was controlled witha temperature controller. At initial internal temperatures of 90° C., analmost immediate exotherm ensued and within 10 minutes the internalreaction temperature was 120-123° C. The exotherm was accompanied byrapid uptake of HCl. The immersion bath was raised to this temperaturefor 1.5-2 hours and HCl was monitored via a weigh cell (the cylinder)and a computer control system. After this period of time, virtually nomore HCl uptake was apparent (approximately 32.1 g uptake). The reactorwas cooled to room temperature, carefully vented to an HCl purge column,opened and the contents (68.0 g) were transferred to a glass bottle witha polyethylene screw-cap. Accurate H2O, HCl and wt % organic balance wasobtained on this and other samples.

The results of analysis and the chemical scheme is shown in Scheme 4below.

A comparison of the results of Example 42 and Comparative Example B isshown in Table II below. TABLE II Example 42 Comparative Example BPressure HCl Atmospheric HCL 32.1 g HCl 700 g HCl Component (Wt %) (Wt%) Acetic acid 3.6 0.44 1,3-DCH 53.74 57.78 2,3-DCH 1 1.113-chloro-1,2-propanediol  ND* 9.98 2-chloro-1,3-propanediol 1.88 4.03glycerol ND ND 2-acetoxy-2,3-dichloropropane 4.75 0.341-acetoxy-2,3-dichloropropane 0.43 ND 1-acetoxy3-chloro-2-propanol ND0.42 acetoxychloropropanol 1.25 0.23 diacetoxychloropropane 0.3 NDChloroether dimers (RCl's) 0.08 0.3 water 16.8 17.65 HCl 14.97 7.7 Totalmass balance 99.3 99.98*ND = not detected

Comparative Example B shows that prolonged reaction time and loss ofcatalysts is experienced in the atmospheric pressure example versus thesuperatmospheric pressure process. Also, unexpectedly, a greaterconversion of monochlorohydrin to dichlorohydrin is experienced in thesuperatmospheric case and less chloroether (RCl) is produced. A majorloss of HCl is experienced in Comparative Example B.

EXAMPLE 43

Ethylene glycol (501 mg, 8.07 mmol), 1,2-propylene glycol (519 mg, 6.82mmol) and glacial acetic acid (102 mg, 1.715 mmol) were placed in aglass vial along with a magnetic stir bar. The vial was placed a 200 mLHastelloy C™ pressure vessel. The pressure vessel was then pressurizedwith 40 psig of anhydrous HCl gas. The bottom of the vial was immersedin a water bath at 72-74° C. and stirring and pressure was maintainedfor 45 minutes. At the end of the reaction, the solution in the vial wastransparent and clear in color. The reaction afforded 1.893 g of crudeproduct containing water which was assayed by flame ionization detectiongas chromatography. The following products were assayed based uponretention time of known commercial standards: chloroethanol (35.62 area%), 1-chloropropan-2-ol (40.47 area %), 2-chloropropan-1-ol ( 6.47 area%), unconverted propanediol (3.00 area %), 2-chloro-1-acetoxyethane(5.09 area %), 1-chloro-2-cetoxypropane (4.45 area %) and2-chloro-1-acetoxypropane (0.75 area %).

EXAMPLES 44-51

The following experiments examining the effect of hydrogen chloridepressure on glycerol hydrochlorination were performed using 30 g ofglycerol, 3 g. of water, 12.6 mole % acetic acid. The reactiontemperature was 90° C. and the reaction time was 120 minutes. Hydrogenchloride pressure was as indicated in Table III and the selectivities tothe dichlorohydrins and their acetates are as indicated. TABLE III1,3-DCH Pressure 1,3-DCH Acetate 2,3-DCH (HCl) Yield Yield Yield ExampleNo. (psig) (mole %) (mole %) (mole %) 44 15 0.2 0.0 0.0 45 20 3.2 0.10.1 46 25 5.0 0.0 0.1 47 30 10.2 0.1 0.2 48 40 33.5 0.4 0.6 49 55 49.40.1 0.9 50 80 82.0 2.2 1.4 51 100 88.7 2.5 1.5

EXAMPLE 52

The following example demonstrates formation of the novel composition ofthe present invention.

Glycerol (30 g, 326 mmols), water (3.0 g, 167 mmols) andepsilon-caprolactone (1.14 g, 10.0 mmols) were charged to a 100 ml Parrreactor, heated to 110° C. and pressurized with anhydrous hydrogenchloride to 110 psig. After 4 hours at these conditions, the reactionmixture had absorbed 34.0 grams of hydrogen chloride. The reactorcontents were discharged and analyzed and found to have the followingcomposition (excluding water and residual hydrogen chloride. TABLE IVComponent Moles Mole % 1,3-Dichlorohydrin (1,3-DCH) 0.3052 93.4141-acetoxy-2,3-dichloropropane (2,3-DCH 0 0 Acetate)1-Acetoxy-3-chloropropan-2-ol (1-MCH 0 0 Acetate) 2,3-Dichlorohydrin(2,3-DCH) 0.0063 1.9197 2-acetoxy-1,3-dichloropropane (1,3-DCH 0 0Acetate) 2-Monochlorohydrin (2-MCH) 0.0122 3.7294 Acetoxychloropropanol(MCH Acetate) 0 0 1-Monochlorohydrin (1-MCH) 0.0018 0.5545 Diacetins(Glycerol Diacetates) 0 0 Diacetoxychloropropanes (MCH 0.0011 0.3347Diacetates) Glycerol 0 0 Monacetin1 (Glycerol Acetate) 0 0 Monacetin2(Glycerol Acetate) 0 0 1,2,3-trichloropropane (TCP) 0 0 Triacetin(Glycerol Triacetate) 0 0 Chlorinated Diglycerols 0.0002 0.0005 Sum (AllOrganic Components) 0.3267 99.9527 Sum of Glycerol and Acetates 0 0 Sumof Monochlorohydrins and Acetates 0.0151 4.6186 1,3-Dichlorohydrin andAcetate 0.3052 93.414 2,3-Dichlorohydrin and Acetate 0.0063 1.9197Trichloropropane 0 0 Chlorinated diglycerol and esters 0.0002 0.0477

EXAMPLE 53 Use of Chlorohydrin to Prepare Epichlorohydrin

The dichlorohydrin (DCH) product prepared from Example 3 above was usedin this example. This experiment used a reactive distillation apparatusconsisting of a 1 liter jacketed kettle with a bottom outlet equipped atthe top with a 30 tray Oldershaw section, feed point for 10% caustic/DCHfeed, 6 tray Oldershaw section, aqueous return feed point and acondenser connected to a phase separator. The DCH and 10% caustic werepreheated and mixed immediately prior to introduction to the systemabove the 30 tray Oldershaw section. Operating conditions were apressure of 250 mm Hg, kettle temperature of 75-77° C., overheadtemperature of 65-67° C. and a feed temperature of 68-76° C. The DCHfeed rate and the caustic feed rate were adjusted to achieve a 10% molarexcess of caustic relative to DCH. A sample of crude epichlorohydrinproduced in the reaction/distillation apparatus had the followingcomposition as analyzed by gas chromatography with a flame ionizationdetector (area %): Component Area % Epichlorohydrin 99.00 Glycidol 0.041,3-DCH 0.13 2,3-DCH 0.35 MCH 0.05

EXAMPLES 54 AND 55 AND COMPARATIVE EXAMPLES C AND D

Hydrogen chloride was bubbled through a mixture of glycerol (30 g),water (3.0 g) and 10 mmol of catalyst at atmospheric pressure for four(4) hours at 110° C. The hydrogen chloride flow rate was controlled at20-25 g per hour over the four (4) hour reaction period. After thistime, the reaction mixture was cooled and analyzed by gas chromatographyto determine the concentration of dichlorohydrins, monochlorohydrins andunreacted glycerol. Table V shows the results obtained using aceticacid, 6-hydroxyhexanoic acid, phenylacetic acid and4-hydroxyphenylacetic acid as catalyst. TABLE V Examples Compar- Compar-ative ative Exam- Exam- ple C Example 54 ple D Example 55 CatalystAcetic 6-Hydroxy- Phenyl- 4-Hydroxy- hexanoic acetic phenylacetic HClUsed (g) 86.3 92.2 90 101 Reaction Mass (g) 50.75 51.78 48.4 52.5Initial Glycerol (g) 30 30 30 30 PRODUCTS Moles DCH 0.0502 0.0651 0.03320.0363 Moles MCH 0.2432 0.2365 0.2221 0.2399 CONVERSIONS Conversion toDCH 15.4 20 10.2 11.1 Conversion to MCH 74.7 72.6 68.2 73.6 Unconverted6.9 8.1 17.5 17.5 Glycerol

1. A process for producing a chlorohydrin, an ester of a chlorohydrin,or a mixture thereof comprising the step of contacting a crude glycerol,an ester of a crude glycerol, or a mixture thereof with a source of asuperatmospheric partial pressure of hydrogen chloride, in the presenceof a catalyst to produce a chlorohydrin, an ester of a chlorohydrin, ora mixture thereof, said contacting step carried out without substantialremoval of water; wherein said crude glycerol, said ester of crudeglycerol, or mixture thereof is derived from a renewable raw material.2. The process of claim 1 carried out in the presence of a catalyst anda co-catalyst.
 3. The process of claim 2 where the co-catalyst is asource of chloride, bromide or iodide.
 4. The process of claim 1 whereinthe hydrogen chloride source is at least 50 mole % hydrogen chloride. 5.The process of claim 1 wherein the hydrogen chloride source is hydrogenchloride gas.
 6. The process of claim 1 wherein the chlorohydrin is adichlorohydrin, an ester of a dichlorohydrin, or a mixture thereof. 7.The process of claim 6 wherein the dichlorohydrin is1,3-dichloropropan-2-ol, or 2,3-dichloropropan-1-ol, or a mixturethereof.
 8. The process of claim 6 wherein the crude glycerol is crude1,2,3-propanetriol.
 9. The process of claim 1 wherein the crude glycerolmay contain one or more materials selected from the group consisting of1,2-ethanediol; 1,2-propanediol; 3-propanediol;1-chloro-2,3-propanediol; 2-chloro-1,3-propandiol; and1,2,3-propanetriol; and mixtures thereof.
 10. The process of claim 1wherein the catalyst is selected from the group consisting of acarboxylic acid, an anhydride, an acid chloride, an ester, a lactone, alactam, an amide, a metal organic compound, a metal salt, any compoundconvertible to a carboxylic acid under the reaction conditions of theprocess, or a combination thereof.
 11. The process of claim 1 whereinthe catalyst is a carboxylic acid or precursor thereof containing from 1to about 60 carbon atoms.
 12. The process of claim 1 where in thecatalyst is a carboxylate derivative having from two to about 20 carbonatoms and containing at least one functional group including an amine,an alcohol, a halogen, a sulfhydryl, an ether, an ester, or combinationthereof, wherein the functional group is attached no closer to the acidfunction than the alpha carbon; or a precursor thereto.
 13. The processof claim 1 wherein the catalyst is selected from the group consisting ofacetic acid, propionic acid, hexanoic acid, heptanoic acid, stearicacid, butyric acid, valeric acid, 4-methylvaleric acid, phenylaceticacid, cinnamic acid, succinic acid, polyacrylic acid, polyethylenegrafted with acrylic acid, epsilon-caprolactone, delta-valerolactone,gamma-butyrolactone, epsilon-caprolactam, 6-chlorohexanoic acid,4-hydroxyphenylacetic acids, 4-aminobutyric acid, 4-dimethylaminobutyricacid, 4-trimethylammoniumbutyric acid chloride, 4-hydroxyphenylaceticacid, 4-aminophenylacetic acid, 5-chlorovaleric acid, 5-hydroxyvalericacid, 4-hydroxybutyric acid, 4-chlorobutyric, 5-chloropentanoic acid,and mixtures thereof.
 14. The process of claim 1 wherein the catalyst isselected from the group consisting of acetic acid, propionic acid,butyric acid, 4-methylvaleric acid, hexanoic acid, heptanoic acid,stearic acid, epsilon-caprolactone, gamma-butyrolactone,6-chlorohexanoic acid, 4-aminobutyric acid, 4-dimethylaminobutyric acid,4-trimethylammoniumbutyric acid chloride, 4-hydroxyphenylacetic acid,4-aminophenylacetic acid, and mixtures thereof.
 15. The process of claim1 wherein the catalyst is selected from the group consisting of aceticacid, epsilon caprolactone, 6-chlorohexanoic acid, delta-valerolactone,5-chloropentanoic acid, 4-chlorobutyric acid, 4-hydroxyphenylaceticacid, 4-aminophenylacetic acid, 4-aminobutyric acid, and mixturesthereof.
 16. The process of claim 1 wherein the catalyst is acetic acidor a derivative of acetic acid.
 17. The process of claim 1 wherein thecatalyst is caprolactone or a derivative of caprolactone.
 18. Theprocess of claim 1 wherein the catalyst is an ester of glycerin, anester of ethylene glycol or an ester of propylene glycol derived from acompound selected from the group consisting of acetic acid, propionicacid, hexanoic acid, heptanoic acid, stearic acid, butyric acid, valericacid, 4-methylvaleric acid, phenylacetic acid, cinnamic acid, succinicacid, benzoic acid, polyacrylic acid, polyethylene grafted with acrylicacid, epsilon caprolactone, delta-valerolactone, gamma-butyrolactone,epsilon-caprolactam, 6-chlorohexanoic acid, 4-hydroxyphenylacetic acids,4-aminobutyric acid, 4-dimethylaminobutyric acid,4-trimethylammoniumbutyric acid chloride, 4-hydroxyphenylacetic acid,4-aminophenylacetic acid, 5-chlorovaleric acid, 5-hydroxyvaleric acid,4-hydroxybutyric acid, 4-chlorobutyric, 5-chloropentanoic acid, andmixtures thereof
 19. The process of claim 1 wherein the catalyst is anester selected from the group consisting of glycerin monoacetate,glycerin diacetate, glycerin distearate,1-chloro-2,3-propanediolmonoacetate, a glycerin ester of apolycarboxylic acid, and mixtures thereof.
 20. The process of claim 1wherein the catalyst is an insoluble polymer containing carboxylic acidmoieties or esters thereof.
 21. The process of claim 20 wherein theinsoluble polymer or copolymer is a polyester, polyacrylic acid,polyamide, polyacrylate and copolymers thereof and mixtures thereof. 22.The process of claim 1 wherein the catalyst has a vapor pressure lowerthan the chlorohydrin or its azeotrope with water.
 23. The process ofclaim 1 which is carried out at a hydrogen chloride partial pressure offrom about 15 psia to about 1000 psia.
 24. The process of claim 1 whichis carried out at a hydrogen chloride partial pressure of from about 35psia to about 600 psia.
 25. The process of claim 1 which is carried outat a hydrogen chloride partial pressure of from about 55 psia to about150 psia.
 26. The process of claim 1 which is carried out at a hydrogenchloride partial pressure of from about 20 psia to about 120 psia. 27.The process of claim 1 which is carried out at a temperature of fromabout 25° C. to about 300° C.
 28. The process of claim 1 which iscarried out at a temperature of from about 25° C. to about 200° C. 29.The process of claim 1 which is carried out at a temperature of fromabout 30° C. to about 160° C.
 30. The process of claim 1 which iscarried out at a temperature of from about 40° C. to about 150° C. 31.The process of claim 1 which is carried out at a temperature of fromabout 50° C. to about 140° C.
 32. A process for preparing a chlorohydrincomprising the step of contacting together at a hydrogen chloridepartial pressure of from about 15 psia to about 1000 psia and at atemperature in the range of from about 25° C. to about 300° C.; (a) acrude glycerol; (b) a catalyst that facilitates the conversion of thecrude glycerol to a chlorohydrin; and (c) hydrogen chloride gas; saidcontacting step carried out without substantial removal of water;wherein said crude glycerol is derived from a renewable raw material.33. A process for preparing a chlorohydrin comprising the step ofcontacting together at a hydrogen chloride partial pressure of fromabout 15 psia to about 1000 psia and at a temperature in the range offrom about 25° C. to about 300° C.: (a) an ester of a crude glycerol;and (b) hydrogen chloride; said contacting step carried out withoutsubstantial removal of water; wherein said crude glycerol is derivedfrom a renewable raw material.
 34. A process for preparing an epoxidecomprising the steps of: (a) contacting a crude glycerol, an ester of acrude glycerol, or a mixture thereof with hydrogen chloride source atsuperatmospheric pressure to produce a chlorohydrin, said contactingstep carried out without substantial removal of water; and (b)contacting the chlorohydrin formed in step (a) above with a base to forman epoxide; wherein said crude glycerol, said ester of crude glycerol,or mixture thereof is derived from a renewable raw material.
 35. Aprocess for preparing an epichlorohydrin comprising the steps of: (a)contacting crude glycerin, an ester of crude glycerin, or a mixturethereof with hydrogen chloride source at superatmospheric pressure toproduce a dichlorohydrin, said contacting step carried out withoutsubstantial removal of water; and (b) contacting the dichlorohydrinformed in step (a) above with a base to form an epichlorohydrin; whereinsaid crude glycerol, said ester of crude glycerol, or mixture thereof isderived from a renewable raw material.
 36. A process for preparing anepoxide comprising the steps of: (a) contacting a crude glycerol, anester of a crude glycerol, or a mixture thereof with a hydrogen chloridesource at superatmospheric pressure to produce a desired chlorohydrin,said contacting step carried out without substantial removal of water;(b) separating the desired chlorohydrins from unreacted crude glycerol,undesired chlorohydrins and their esters, and catalyst; and (c)contacting the desired chlorohydrins separated in step (b) above with abase to form an epoxide; wherein said crude glycerol, said ester ofcrude glycerol, or mixture thereof is derived from a renewable rawmaterial.
 37. The process of claim 36 including the step of recyclingthe separated unreacted crude glycerol, monochlorohydrins and theiresters, and catalyst to step (a) ; wherein said crude glycerol isderived from a renewable raw material.
 38. A process for preparing anepichlorohydrin comprising the steps of: (a) contacting crude glycerin,an ester of crude glycerin, or a mixture thereof with hydrogen chloridesource at superatmospheric pressure to produce a dichlorohydrin, saidcontacting step carried out without substantial removal of water; (b)separating the dichlorohydrins from unreacted glycerin,monochlorohydrins and their esters, and catalyst; and (c) contacting thedichlorohydrins separated in step (b) above with a base to form anepichlorohydrin; wherein said crude glycerol, said ester of crudeglycerol, or mixture thereof is derived from a renewable raw material.39. A process for preparing an epoxide comprising the steps of: (a)contacting a crude glycerol, an ester of a crude glycerol, or a mixturethereof with chloride ion source at superatmospheric pressure to producea desired chlorohydrin and an ester thereof, said contacting stepcarried out without substantial removal of water; (b) reacting theproduct of step (a) with crude glycerol to convert the desiredchlorohydrin esters to the desired chlorohydrins; (c) separating thedesired chlorohydrins from unreacted crude glycerol, undesiredchlorohydrins and their esters, and catalyst; and (d) contacting thedesired chlorohydrin separated in step (c) above with a base to form anepoxide; wherein said crude glycerol, said ester of crude glycerol, ormixture thereof is derived from a renewable raw material.
 40. A processfor preparing an epichlorohydrin comprising the steps of: (a) contactingcrude glycerin, an ester of crude glycerin, or a mixture thereof withchloride ion source at superatmospheric pressure to produce adichlorohydrin and an ester thereof, said contacting step carried outwithout substantial removal of water; (b) reacting the product of step(a) with crude glycerin to convert the dichlorohydrin esters todichlorohydrins; (c) separating the dichlorohydrins from unreacted crudeglycerin, monochlorohydrins and their esters, and catalyst; and (d)contacting the dichlorohydrin separated in step (c) above with a base toform an epichlorohydrin; wherein said crude glycerol, said ester ofcrude glycerol, or mixture thereof is derived from a renewable rawmaterial.
 41. The process of claim 40 wherein the base is a carbonate,bicarbonate or hydroxide of sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium ormixtures thereof.
 42. A process for producing a high yield of achlorohydrin, an ester of a chlorohydrin, or a mixture thereofcomprising the step of contacting a crude glycerol, an ester of a crudeglycerol, or a mixture thereof with a source of a superatmosphericpartial pressure of a hydrogen chloride and in the presence of acatalyst to produce a chlorohydrin, an ester of a chlorohydrin, or amixture thereof without the substantial removal of water; wherein saidcrude glycerol, said ester of crude glycerol, or mixture thereof isderived from a renewable raw material.
 43. A process comprising the stepof contacting a crude glycerol, an ester of a crude glycerol, or amixture thereof with hydrochloric acid gas at superatmospheric pressureto produce a chlorohydrin, said contacting step carried out withoutsubstantial removal of water; wherein said crude glycerol, said ester ofcrude glycerol, or mixture thereof is derived from a renewable rawmaterial.
 44. A process for producing a chlorohydrin, an ester of achlorohydrin, or a mixture thereof comprising the step of contacting acrude glycerol an ester of a crude glycerol, or a mixture thereof with asource of a superatmospheric, atmospheric or subatmospheric partialpressure of hydrogen chloride to produce a chlorohydrin, an ester of achlorohydrin, or a mixture thereof, in the presence of a catalystwherein the catalyst: (i) is a carboxylate derivative having from two toabout 20 carbon atoms and containing at least one functional groupselected from the group comprising an amine, an alcohol, a halogen, ansulfhydryl, an ether, an ester, or a combination thereof, wherein thefunctional group is attached no closer to the acid function than thealpha carbon; or a precursor thereto; (ii) is less volatile than thedesired chlorohydrin, the ester of a chlorohydrin or the mixturethereof; and (iii) contains heteroatom substituents; wherein said crudeglycerol, said ester of crude glycerol, or mixture thereof is derivedfrom a renewable raw material.
 45. The process of claim 44 wherein thecarboxylate derivative catalyst has the following general Formula (a):

wherein “R′” includes a functional group comprising an amine, analcohol, a halogen, a sulfhydryl, an ether: or an alkyl, an aryl oralkaryl group of from 1 to about 20 carbon atoms containing saidfunctional group; or a combination thereof; and wherein “R” includeshydrogen, alkali, alkali earth or transition metal or hydrocarbonfunctional group.
 46. The process of claim 44 wherein the carboxylatederivative catalyst is selected from the group consisting of lactones,esters, lactams, amides and functionalized carboxylic acids.
 47. Theprocess of claim 44 wherein the carboxylate derivative catalyst isselected from the group consisting of a caprolactone, a carboxylic acidamide, a carboxylic acid lactone, a caprolactam, and combinationsthereof.
 48. The process of claim 44 wherein the carboxylate derivativecatalyst is selected from the group consisting of 6-hydroxyhexanoicacid, 6-chlorohexanoic acid, caprolactone, ε-caprolactam, andγ-butyrolactam; γ-butyrolactone, δ-valerolactone, and ε-caprolactone;6-aminocaproic acid; 4-aminophenylacetic acid, 4-aminobutyric acid,4-dimethylaminobutyric acid, 4-hydroxyphenylacetic acid,4-dimethylaminophenylacetic acid, aminophenylacetic acid, lactic acid,glycolic acid, 4-dimethylaminobutyric acid, 4-trimethylammoniumbutyricacid, and combinations thereof.
 49. A process for producing achlorohydrin, an ester of a chlorohydrin, or a mixture thereofcomprising the step of reacting a crude glycerol, an ester of a crudeglycerol, or a mixture thereof with hydrogen chloride, in the presenceof a catalyst to produce a chlorohydrin, an ester of a chlorohydrin, ora mixture thereof, said reaction step carried out without substantialremoval of water; and said reaction step carried out under asuperatmospheric pressure; wherein said crude glycerol, said ester ofcrude glycerol, or mixture thereof is derived from a renewable rawmaterial.
 50. The process of claims 1, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 38, 39, 40,42, 43, 44, or 49 wherein the renewable raw material comprises abiomass.
 51. The process of claims 1, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 38, 39, 40,42, 43, 44, or 49 wherein the renewable raw material comprises anoleochemical.
 52. The process of claim 50 wherein the biomass comprisesa cellulosic material, starch, carbohydrate or sugar; or mixturesthereof.
 53. The process of claim 52 wherein the biomass compriseshydrogenolized cellulosic material, hydrogenolized starch,hydrogenolized carbohydrate or hydrogenolized sugar; or mixturesthereof.
 54. The process of claim 53 wherein the oleochemical compriseshydrogenolized sucrose.
 55. The process of claim 51 wherein theoleochemical comprises an oleochemical produced from seed oils,vegetable fats or oils; animal fats or oils, or algae oils; or mixturesthereof.
 56. The process of claim 54 wherein the oleochemical comprisespalm oil, palm kernel oil, copra oil, babassu oil, rape oil, canola oil,olive oil, sunflower oil, linseed oil, corn oil, castor oil, cottonseedoil, peanut oil, soy oil, flaxseed oil, or crambe oil; or mixturesthereof.
 57. The process of claims 1, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 38, 39, 40,42, 43, 44, or 49 wherein the crude glycerol is crude1,2,3-propanetriol.
 58. The process of claims 1, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 38,39, 40, 42, 43, 44, or 49 wherein the crude glycerol contains less than25 weight % water, and less than 25 weight % alkali or alkaline earthmetal salts and less than 25% organic compounds other than glycerin,where the total impurities comprise less than 50% of the total.
 59. Theprocess of claim 58 wherein the crude glycerol contains less than 15weight % water, and less than 5 weight % alkali or alkaline earth metalsalts and less than 5% organic compounds other than glycerin.
 60. Theprocess of claim 58 wherein the crude glycerol contains less than 10weight % water, and less than 0.1 weight % alkali or alkaline earthmetal salts and less than 0.1% organic compounds other than glycerin.61. The process of claims 1, 32; 33, 34, 35, 36, 38, 39, 40, 42, 43, 44,or 49 wherein the crude glycerol is a mixture of crude glycerol,1,2-ethanediol; 1,2-propanediol, 1,3-propanediol; and butanediolpositional isomers.